Deve Gowda writes to Sonia Gandhi, flags 'chaos' in Parliament, blames Opposition disruptions

New Delhi: Former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha member H D Deve Gowda on Monday wrote a letter to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, expressing concern over the “chaos” inside Parliament and its premises caused by Opposition parties, particularly Congress MPs.

In his letter, Gowda said he had been “greatly disturbed” by recent developments in Parliament, which he attributed primarily to the opposition parties.

“I honestly feel that it may immensely harm the foundations of our democracy and leave a trail of indelible bitterness,” Gowda wrote, referring to the recent disruptions in Parliament.

Gowda stated that he believes Congress MPs, led by the Leader of Opposition, have been responsible for frequent disruptions, slogan-shouting, and demonstrations in recent days.

The nonagenarian Janata Dal (Secular) leader, whose son H D Kumaraswamy is the Minister of Steel in the NDA government, added, “My idea of parliamentary democracy has been built on the lessons and guidance imparted by our founding fathers, such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B R Ambedkar, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, among others. In my long exposure, I have never witnessed Parliament in such chaos and casualness as we have seen recently."

Criticising Rahul Gandhi without naming him directly, Gowda wrote, “He cannot think that his success lies in operating outside rules and traditions. When we take oath as parliamentarians, we also indirectly commit ourselves to its rules and established procedures.”

Referring to the incident on March 12, when Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had tea and biscuits during an Opposition protest at Parliament’s Makar Dwar entrance, Gowda said: “When I was Prime Minister as well as Chief Minister, I also faced protests from Opposition parties on various issues. Even when they protested, they did not block the entrance to Parliament, make their gathering look like a tea-shop assembly, and worse, order tea, biscuits and pakodas sitting on the steps of parliament."

The former Prime Minister urged Sonia Gandhi to speak to her party leaders and encourage a return to parliamentary decorum. “The Opposition protest has to be framed in a way that does not dismantle what we have built together over more than 75 glorious years,” Gowda said in the letter.