Naidu spoke on sacrilege of House but silent on manhandling of women MPs: Mallikarjun Kharge

The Opposition on Thursday targeted Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, accusing him of bias in the running of the House with Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge saying that the silence on the alleged attack on women MPs by marshals "spoke volumes on the duplicitous manner" in which the proceedings were held.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien also criticised the Chairman, and referred to the latter breaking down in the House while asking the media to report the correct picture.

The Opposition attack came against the backdrop of Naidu's remarks in the House on Wednesday morning while he found fault with them for the ruckus created during the discussion on farmers' issues as some MPs climbed the reporters' table and one of them threw a file at the Chair.

Also Read — Spent sleepless night after 'sacrilege in temple of democracy': Naidu after Oppn ruckus in Rajya Sabha

Later in the evening, Opposition MPs entered into a scuffle with marshals when they tried to protest against the passing of a bill that enhances private sector role in public sector general insurance companies. Opposition had alleged that women MPs were manhandled.

"While M Venkaiah Naidu-ji speaks of sacrilege in Rajya Sabha, his silence on how marshals manhandled women MPs speaks volumes on the duplicitous manner in which the House is run. Is this how the temple of democracy runs? New India?" Kharge tweeted on Thursday morning.

O'Brien tweeted without naming Naidu, "Someone cried. Someone had a sleepless night. Cut out the... from your front pages. Report the critical truth and the deep crisis from the floor of Parliament. All those media houses who are complicit in the murder of our parliamentary democracy. Show some spine."

On Wednesday, Naidu said he spent a "sleepless night" over the ruckus in the Upper House following what he described as "sacrilege" of "the temple of democracy". While the Opposition was unhappy with the wording of the subject for discussion, Naidu said the MPs lost a "golden opportunity" to discuss all issues and the trouble was "propelled by a sense of competition among some sections" since the commencement of the Monsoon Session.

Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh had countered Naidu on Wednesday itself by tweeting, "Presiding officers in Parliament are supposed to be neutral umpires, not partisan players. They cannot present a totally one-sided picture of goings on in the House and further aggravate the situation. Misplaced emotion leads to commotion."

Just before the House adjourned sine die, Leader of House Piyush Goyal rose in defence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman Harivansh, saying the Opposition created trouble for the presiding officers and indulged in ruckus. He demanded an apology from the Opposition besides a thorough probe by a committee to look into the actions of the Opposition.