M A I N   N E W S

Speaker names 32 unruly MPs
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service

Ab Tak 32 Shahnawaz Hussain P.S. Gadhavi M.A. Kharabela Swain Kishan Singh Sangwan Kiran Maheswari Chandrakant Khaire Kalpana Ramesh Narhire Tathagatha Satpathy Brajesh Pathak Mahavir Bhagora Ashok pradhan Nand Kumar Sai Shrichand Kriplani Vijayendra Pal Singh Ganesh Singh Faggan Singh Kulaste Bhanwar Singh Dangawas Virendra Kumar Ram Singh Kaswan Subhash Maharia Sushila Laxman Bangaru Dharmendra Pradhan Ramswaroop Koli Sukdeo Paswan Ramakrishna Kusmaria Karuna Shukla Nandkumar Singh Chauhan P.P. Koya SAD squad Rattan Singh Ajnala Sukhdev Singh Libra Sharanjit Singh Dhillon Paramjit Kaur Gulshan

New Delhi, May 1
Days after the Rajya Sabha chairman evicted a member from the House for disorderly behaviour, it was the turn of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to crack the whip. In an unusual and unprecedented move, an exasperated Speaker today referred the cases of 32 MPs to the Privileges Committee for their conduct, which was found to be in violation of the rules. Chatterjee took this extreme step after the members ignored his repeated warnings of disciplinary action for disrupting proceedings and indulging in slogan shouting.

Although this issue has been under discussion with the leaders of political parties for the past four years and the Speaker has even held several meetings with them, these efforts have failed to yield any positive results.

Sources in the Speaker’s office said Chatterjee’s patience ran out last week when the opposition members ignored his appeals for peace, rushed into the well of the House and resorted to slogan shouting.

The April 24 incident, when the NDA members boycotted the proceedings to form a human chain outside Parliament to protest against price rise and then trooped into the House and disrupted the proceedings proved to be the proverbial last straw.

Chatterjee was equally unhappy with the behaviour of BSP member Brajesh Pathak, who did not allow union minister Ramvilas Paswan to give a reply to his own supplementary during the question hour on the same day.

It was pointed out that Chatterjee’s decision today was not a surprise as he had repeatedly drawn the attention of the members to the rules, which clearly stated that disruption and slogan shouting was not allowed.

He has often bemoaned the falling standards of behaviour in the House and has even gone to the extent of describing the House as a “torture chamber”.

Chatterjee had even suggested once that the “no work, no pay” rule be applied to MPs, but this was rejected by all political parties.

Pushed to the wall by the continuing acts of indiscipline, the Speaker finally referred the two matters to the Privileges Committee of the House “for examination, investigation and report”. The committee, it is learnt, has the powers to admonish, reprimand, suspend or expel a member.

This is the first time that the Speaker has taken such a serious note of disorderly behaviour and has used the rules to send out a stern message that members should fall in line or else they will have to face the consequences.

Members whose cases have been referred to the House Speaker names 32 unruly MPs panel include Shahnawaz Hussain, P.S. Gadhavi, M.A. Kharabela Swain, Kishan Singh Sangwan and Kiran Maheswari. (BJP). The list also includes Chandrakant Khaire, Kalpana Ramesh Narhire (Shiv Sena), Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sukhdeo Singh Libra (SAD), Ttathagatha Satpathy (BJD) and Brajesh Pathak (BSP). Others who have been named are Mahavir Bhagora, Ashok pradhan, Nand Kumar Sai, Shrichand Kriplani, Vijayendra Pal Singh, Ganesh Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Bhanwar Singh Dangawas, Virendra Kumar, Ram Singh Kaswan, Subhash Maharia, Sushila Laxman Bangaru, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramswaroop Koli, Sukdeo Paswan, Ramakrishna Kusmaria, Karuna Shukla and Nandkumar Singh Chauhan (all BJP), Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan (SAD) and P.P. Koya (JD-U).

Ironically, Brajesh Pathak, who figures in the list, happens to be a member of the Privileges Committee. Vijayendra Pal Singh is the only member, who has the honour of facing both the Ethics and the Privileges Committees of the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, the Ethics Committee for using a fake vehicle-entry pass sticker to secure entry into the Parliament House Complex let him off with a warning. Incidentally, he is a member of that very Ethics Committee, which warned him against misconduct.

In the past there has been an instance when only two members -I P. C. Thomas and Ram Kripal Yadav - were asked to leave the House, when they continued to disobey the Chair.