'Marshals used unacceptable force': Opposition leaders apprise Naidu of ruckus in Rajya Sabha

Opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Ramgopal Yadav, T Siva among others were present at the meeting

Senior Opposition leaders on Thursday met Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to present their side on the ruckus in the Upper House and urged him to look into the deployment of large number of marshals, manhandling of MPs and the circumstances that led to the developments rather than unilaterally finding fault with them.

As Opposition leaders raised doubts about the presence of "outsiders" among marshals, the Rajya Sabha officials later informed Naidu that only marshals from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, as permitted, were deployed and their maximum number was 42.

Fourteen leaders from 10 parties led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told the Chairman that the "authoritarian attitude and undemocratic actions" of the government led to the trouble in the Upper House and that they remained committed to continue their "struggle against the assault on Parliamentary democracy" and protest on issues of national interest and people's concern.

The meeting came a day after Rajya Sabha witnessed Opposition MPs entering into a scuffle with marshals during the passing of a bill to enhance private sector participation in public sector general insurance companies, which the Opposition demanded be sent to a Select Committee.

On Tuesday, some MPs had climbed the reporters' table and one of them threw a file at the empty Chair, which Naidu had described as "sacrilege".

Opposition leaders told Naidu there was no consensus on bringing the insurance bill and took exception to the way in which it was passed.

Sources said Naidu told the Opposition leaders that the issue was "not pardonable" and "serious action" needed to be taken against erring MPs. While he expressed concern over even the Chairman not being allowed to make some important observations, Naidu assured the leaders that he would look into the incidents involving some MPs and marshals.

In a note submitted to Naidu on behalf of the leaders, sources said Kharge said that he was putting their "strongest possible condemnation" on how the House was conducted on Wednesday evening.

"A very large number of security personnel, who were not part of the regular part of the watch and ward staff of Rajya Sabha Secretariat were deployed. They used unacceptable force and physically manhandled MPs, including women," the note said, adding that what happened was a "shocking, unprecedented insult" to democracy.

It said the Opposition MPs were prevented from registering their protest on the insurance bill on which there was a "wide consensus" that it should be sent to a Select Committee for further Parliamentary scrutiny.

Sources said Pawar told the meeting that he has been in Parliament for around five decades, spending time in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as in Treasury and Opposition benches. He said he had never witnessed the way the Opposition was handled.

Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma said there were a number of people whom they did not recognise among marshals and expressed doubt that there could be "outsiders".

CPI(M) floor leader Elamaram Kareem said the MPs were outnumbered by the marshals and one should understand the circumstances that led to the Opposition protest.

Following this, sources said, Naidu asked Rajya Sabha officials about the claim after which they said no outsiders were deployed as marshals. The watch and ward staff of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats were deployed, which is permitted.

Only 14 marshals were deployed to start with and was gradually scaled up to 42, based on the situation in the House and in view of the incidents in the House on previous days, they said.

Besides Kharge, Pawar, Sharma, Ramesh and Kareem, leaders like RJD's Manoj K Jha, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh also spoke during the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Ramgopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party, Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Abdul Wahab (Muslim League) and M V Shreyams Kumar (LJD).

Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukthar Abbas Naqvi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupender Yadav, V Muralidharan and Arjun Singh Meghwal also met Naidu separately and took took "serious objection" to what they called "pre-determined strategy of not allowing the House to function come what may" and the conduct of some MPs.

Naidu also held two meetings with Rajya Sabha officials during which he sought details about the turn of events in the House over the last few days, including the issue of deployment of marshals. The officials provided a detailed account of the events during the first meeting and were asked by the Chairman to report back to him on the manner and scale of deployment later in the day.

Amid a demand from the government that strict action should be taken, Naidu also enquired about the unruly incidents in the Parliament in the past, committees constituted on the same by the Presiding Officers and Houses, reports submitted and actions taken.