TRS MPs submit privilege notice against PM on Andhra Pradesh bifurcation remarks

Narendra Modi’s remarks on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh during his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Rajya Sabha reverberated in the Upper House on Thursday with TRS MPs submitting a privilege notice against the Prime Minister and protested against it with other Opposition parties in support.

The issue was raised by TRS floor leader K Keshava Rao during Zero Hour, to which Deputy Chairman Harivansh informed the House that the letter was received by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the matter is under consideration of Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu while refusing to allow him to discuss the issue further.

TRS MPs then rose in protest with other Opposition MPs supporting Rao and others to raise the matter. Some of the TRS MPs rushed to the Well.

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The privilege notice was jointly submitted by Rao, J Santosh Kumar, B Lingaiah Yadav and K R Suresh Reddy in which they alleged that the Prime Minister "openly questioned" the procedures adopted in Parliament during the passage of the Bill bifurcating Andhra Pradesh into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge rose in support of TRS but was disallowed as he said that it was objectionable that the Prime Minister said so about the Bill passed by the Parliament. He was, however, cut short by the Deputy Chairman saying that he cannot allow a discussion on the issue.

Modi had on Tuesday said that the bifurcation was done in haste and as a result, both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are facing problems. He had said that the mikes were off, the doors of the Chambers were closed and even pepper spray (by a Congress MP) was used. He also said the BJP was not against Telangana but the bifurcation could have been done easily.

Rao told reporters that the Houses of Parliament are run by the presiding officers as per rules and their rules are final but finding fault on this is a contempt of the House, raising the issue of its privilege. He alleged that the Prime Minister tried to find fault with such conduct and described them as unruly.

"The statement attempts to show the Parliament in the most bad and contemptuous manner, denigrating and demeaning the procedures and proceedings of the House and its functioning. It amounts to finding fault with the MPs and the Presiding Officers for their conduct in the House," he said.

During Zero Hour, senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha urged the government to take steps to reopen colleges and universities, saying the suspension of physical classes since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to regression in learning.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, the Delhi University professor said that access to digital means remained an issue and there is a need to open more higher education institutions.

"I am a teacher. It is sad to say many students switch off their videos. It is not interactive. There is no knowledge production or knowledge interaction. The government should send a message by opening these institutions," he said.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas demanded more allocation of funds for the senior citizens. “We know how this government is against the poor. They are against senior citizens too. There is a need to increase allocation for the welfare of senior citizens,” he said.

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