Rajya Sabha Chairman refers matter of Sanjay Raut's remarks against Maharashtra assembly to privileges committee

Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday referred the matter relating to Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut's remarks against the Maharashtra Assembly to the privileges committee.

Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narvekar had submitted a breach of privilege notice to the Chairman against Raut for his objectionable remarks calling the Maharashtra assembly a "chor mandal" (house of thieves).

"... Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha has referred the matter of Shri Sanjay Raut, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha calling 'This is not Vidhan Mandal (Legislature) but Chor Mandal (House of Thieves)' to the Committee of Privileges under Rule 203 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States for examination, investigation and report," a notification from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.

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It said that a notice of the breach of privilege against Sanjay Raut came from the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on April 6 on his statement against the assembly, urging the chairman for appropriate inquiry, action and decision.

"You are kindly requested to place this matter of breach of privilege and contempt raised against Shri Sanjay Raut, Member of Rajya Sabha before the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha for due consideration, enquiry, action and decision," the Maharashtra Speaker had said in his communication tot he chairman.

The decision was taken keeping in view the practice, procedure and convention that have evolved to deal with such cases and flow from the report of the Joint sitting of the Committee of Privileges of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha presented to both the Houses on August 23, 1954 and the recommendations made in the Report of the Committee of Speakers that was presented at the conference of the Presiding Officers of all states held in September 1956.

These state that when a question of breach of privilege is raised in any legislature in which a member of another Legislature is involved, the presiding officer should refer the matter to the presiding officer of the legislature to which that member belongs and the latter should deal with the matter in the same way as if it were a breach of privilege of that House.