Speaker silenced, drops notice to unruly MPs

FINGER ON THEIR LIPS: Somnath Chatterjee had to cave in after MPs gave him the silent treatment on Monday.

    

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New Delhi: If the Lok Sabha was a classroom, and the speaker its headmaster, then the "finger on their lips" look of the MPs on Monday would have been a picture of disciplined pupils, for Monday was an unusual session of Parliament.

The usually boisterous, and sometimes violent Members of Parliament had gone absolutely quiet. They were giving Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee the silent treatment for sending notices to 32 MPs for their unruly behaviour.

The Speaker had referred them to the Privileges Committee of Parliament, citing their rowdy and unruly behaviour and frequent disruptions as reason.

"I have mentioned that I am extremely upset. However, I am again saying that my intention is not to punish per se. I am only saying that Parliament should function smoothly. You can raise any issue to embarrass the Government. It is not the duty of the Speaker to extricate the Government from any problem or to save the Government. Let the Government go if it does not have a majority," he stated.

The Opposition MPs, with fingers on their lips, were protesting what they said was an "unfair move" by Somnath Chaterjee, by giving the Speaker the silent treatment.

And the Speaker had to cave in. He yielded by calling an all-party meeting and by withdrawing the notices sent — though not before the had assured him of smooth functioning of the House.

And in a matter of hours, the Opposition — which had gone so far as to allege that the Chair had lost the confidence of a majority of the House — was being as charitable as ever.

But the question is: has this latest run-in strained Speaker-Opposition relations further?

To this, BJP MP, Santosh Gangwar stated, "There is no bitterness. Lok Sabha is like a family and the Speaker is our mukhiya (head). We are thankful that he has withdrawn the notice."

As for the Speaker, he says that he have not had his way, but believes that his point has been well made.

"I want the people to see what's happening here. This is not about punishment," he stated.

All's well that ends well they say, but the question is — will this incident make MPs think twice before they disrupting proceedings or will this just be a storm in the tea cup, going down as a footnote in another chapter of the Speaker-Opposition standoff? That remains to be seen.

	On Monday, in an apparent attempt at Gandhigiri, the NDA leaders decided to observe maun vrat (vow of silence) to protest the Speaker's decision to send notices to 32 MPs.
	Not just the NDA, the Samajwadi Party was too protesting, saying the MPs have never been subjected to such restrictions.
	On Thursday, the Speaker had referred the MPs to the Privileges Committee for disrupting proceedings in the House. Thirty-one MPs from the NDA camp had raised slogans against price rise in the House on April 24.
	BSP MP Brajesh Pathak had caused repeated disruptions when Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was making a statement in the House the next day.
	Responding to the Speaker's disciplinary action, BJP leader VK Malhotra had said the Privileges Committee was not for “paralysing” MPs. “Privileges Committee is for the protection of MPs not for paralysing them. Without notice, the issue was referred to the Committee,” he said.

(With inputs from Bhupendra Chaubey in New Delhi)