Opposition's shifting positions, lack of agreement led to RS stalemate: Secretariat

Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Thursday expressed regret over the stalemate in the Upper House over the suspension of 12 MPs during the Winter Session, blaming the “shifting positions” of the Opposition and the “lack of agreement” among parties. He added that it was wrong to say that Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not take the initiative to resolve it.

Rajya Sabha Secretariat claimed it was wrong to accuse the Chairman of not allowing the Opposition to raise issues and adjourning the proceedings within minutes. They said Naidu had made it clear in 2017 while assuming the office that he would be left with no option but to adjourn the House if he felt that the intention of parties was to disrupt the proceedings.

The comments came as Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody held a meeting and reviewed media reports on Parliament’s Winter Session, which an official statement described as “factually incorrect narrative”. It also said Mody was of the view that it was “äppropriate and even necessary” to share these views with media in the wake of the “negative narrative” presented by “some sections of the House”.

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Responding to the statement, Congress Rajya Sabha Chief whip Jairam Ramesh said, “Instead of issuing misleading press releases, Venkaiah Naidu-garu would be well advised to hold regular meetings with all parties as Chairman and not as ex-President of the BJP and I hope I will not be suspended for the Budget session next month for saying so now.”

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that he was ready to “express regret” on behalf of 12 suspended MPs but the government was not in agreement. He also accused Naidu of adjourning the House and not even allowing him to speak under pressure from the government.

On the suspension, a proposal had come before Naidu that Kharge would express regret on behalf of the suspended MPs on the floor of the House. But, they said, there was a question whether some parties whose MPs were among those suspended would disagree with the Leader of the Opposition after he did so.

Naidu then suggested that the best course would be to talk to all parties before expressing regret. It was also suggested that if all parties were not on board, regret could be expressed on behalf of the parties willing to do so but nothing happened thereafter, an official statement said.

Citing the precedent of the then Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley expressing regret on behalf of 7 non-BJP MPs for unruly behaviour during the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2010, Naidu also suggested that the government should move a motion to terminate suspension in case regret is expressed. The Opposition also refused to nominate members to a committee to examine the suspension of MPs, sources said.

Sources said all these showed that Naidu was “actively engaged in resolving” the stalemate.

However, they said there was “no progress due to shifting positions of the concerned” and “perhaps, due to unwillingness” to express regret and “lack of agreement” among the Opposition.

On Kharge’s charges on adjournment, the statement said that Naidu had made his views clear to leaders when the issue was brought before him. It is “factually incorrect and misleading to suggest” that the Chairman resorted to “frequent adjournments” during the Winter Session “under some pressure”. Casting such aspersions amounts to disrespecting and disregarding the institution of the Chairman of the House, it said.

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