Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice in Lok Sabha to discuss freedom of speech in Parliament

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                           

New Delhi, March 14

Congress member Manish Tewari has given a notice to the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for the adjournment of the business of the House on Tuesday to “have a detailed discussion on the essence, substance and spirit of the freedom of speech accorded to Members of Parliament under Article 105 of the Constitution”.

Large portions of the speeches made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in the Rajya Sabha were expunged during the first leg of the Budget Session of Parliament held last month. This had attracted a strong reaction from the Congress, who said it amounted to violation of the right to freedom of speech of MPs.

Article 105 of the Constitution deals with the powers and privileges of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof, Tewari said, adding that Article 105(1) categorically lays down that “there shall be freedom of speech in Parliament”.

A necessary corollary of Article 105(1) is that such rules must facilitate the specific right of expression granted to members of Parliament. It is this unfettered right to free expression in Parliament which forms the bedrock of democratic discussion and deliberation, the notice by Tewari stated.

Tewari said that of late there have been public discussions involving eminent constitutional functionaries about the contours of the right to free expression of Members of Parliament guaranteed under the Constitution. These discussions have centred on the question of what should be a permissible speech.

“The right to freedom of speech of members of Parliament is expressly protected by the constitutional text. The issue is central to the functioning of parliamentary democracy in the country,” Tewari said.

“Under these circumstances, I request that the business of the House be adjourned to discuss the matter concerning the issue of freedom of speech in Parliament,” the notice stated.