Speaker pulls up MP for 'moving like nomadic tribes' remark

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday expressed her dismay over BJD parliamentarian Pinaki Misra’s remark that members were like “nomadic tribes” in the absence of a fixed seating arrangement in the House.

Misra’s comment had on Tuesday caught the Speaker’s attention after an interjection from Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who said that it was his duty to advise members on the manner of speaking in the House.

After Naidu asserted that it was the Speaker’s prerogative to allocate seats, Mahajan sought to give members a piece of her mind on appropriate conduct.

While asking parliamentarians to understand the rules and regulations of the House, the Speaker said that uncharitable comments should not be made as they may hurt the sentiments of people. Pointing out the condescending tone of Misra’s remark, Mahajan said that even tribal people had a way of life.

Misra, before speaking on demands for the grants of the Environment and Forest Ministry, had said: “We are already half-way into the Budget Session, but we are moving around like nomadic tribes.”

Mahajan said that a seating plan had been proposed to parties, but allotment of seats was being delayed due to the apprehension of some MPs.

The Speaker is understood to be having a tough time in clearing a seating arrangement since regional parties like the AIADMK, Trinamool Congress and BJD are not comfortable sharing a bench with the Congress.

These parties are Congress rivals in their respective states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha.

Eager to have their leaders seated in the front row, a formula is believed to have been worked out to allot spaces in proportion to strength and positions of the parties’ MPs.

By this logic, the Congress may not be able to occupy the entire front row on the Opposition side of the House.