By PTI
NAGPUR: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday slammed the decision of prohibiting demonstrations and dharnas in the precincts of Parliament House, calling it an attack on democratic rights of elected representatives.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat, in a circular, has said demonstrations, dharnas or religious ceremonies cannot be held in the precincts of Parliament House.
The move has drawn ire of the Opposition, but authorities termed the issuance of such notices as “routine” affair ahead of Parliament sessions.
Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said “Any attack on democratic rights will not be tolerated.”
The Rajya Sabha MP said opposition parties are meeting in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the issue and frame a collective stand.
The monsoon session of Parliament is beginning on July 18.
Pawar said when MPs’ voice is not heard inside Parliament, they stage a walkout and hold peaceful protests at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the premises.
“That right is being denied,” the former Union minister said, adding such an action will not be tolerated.
On the issue of the Shiv Sena, an ally of the NCP in Maharashtra, supporting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee Droupadi Murmu for President’s post, Pawar said, “Every political party has the right to take its own decisions.”
Pawar said continuation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, consisting of the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena, for contesting future elections has not been discussed in his party.
“It is my personal view that the MVA should contest elections together,” the NCP patriarch said.
He said 15 days have passed since a new government was formed in Maharashtra, but only “two people” are running the administration as of now.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP took oath on June 30.
“Why is there a delay in cabinet formation is not known. The only work they are doing now is scrapping decisions of the (erstwhile) MVA government. This is not a good precedent ,” Pawar said.
The former Union minister said the country’s economy was getting into trouble and appropriate steps must be taken to revive it.
Asked about the falling value of the rupee against the US dollar, he said India’s economic conditions do not appear to be good.
“The country’s economy is heading towards trouble. It is responsibility of the government of the day to see how to keep the economy in good shape and take proper steps for its growth. We will raise this issue in Parliament,” the veteran parliamentarian said.
Asked about the political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, Pawar said these are very sensitive issues.
“China has to some extent transgressed (the LAC) and entered into some parts of our side. In this situation, the government has not yet told the country what stand it has taken on the issue. I feel it is a very important matter and no politics should be brought into this issue. All should be united,” the former defence minister said.
Asked what issues the Opposition will raise in Parliament during the monsoon session, Pawar said two meetings have been scheduled on Saturday in New Delhi – one of the opposition and the other an all-party meeting called by the government.
“In the all-party meeting we will listen to what the government has to say and then there will be a meeting of opposition parties, where we will discuss and decide our strategy inside Parliament,” the Rajya Sabha member said.
Asked whether the Shinde-led government will remain in office till the rest of the term of the current Assembly (till late 2024), Pawar avoided a direct reply and said he was not an astrologer to predict future happenings.
Demonstrations, dharnas or religious ceremonies cannot be held in the precincts of Parliament House, a circular by the Rajya Sabha secretariat has said, drawing ire from the Opposition on Friday even as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla insisted that such notices were being issued for years.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that the circular has not been issued for the first time and such advice has been reiterated from time to time.
They said such a circular is issued normally ahead of every session of Parliament.
The secretariat also provided copies of the similar circular issued during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2013 and said such circulars are being issued for many years now.
The new bulletin, which has been issued by Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 18, said the kind cooperation of members is solicited.
“Members cannot use the precincts of the Parliament House for any demonstration, dharna, strike, fast, or for the purpose of performing any religious ceremony,” the bulletin said.
Reacting strongly to the circular, the opposition parties attacked the government.
Congress general secretary and chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh was among the first ones to take to Twitter to attack the government.
“Vishguru’s latest salvo – D(h)arna Mana Hai!,” he tweeted, sharing a copy of the circular issued on July 14.
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury also took to Twitter to criticise the government and alleged that these are attempts to muzzle the voice of democracy.
“What a farce. The attempts to muzzle the soul of India, its democracy and its very voice will fall flat,” he said.
After the opposition uproar over the circular, Speaker Birla told reporters that political parties should refrain from making allegations without ascertaining the facts.
“It (such circulars to members) is a process. This practice has been carrying on for a long time,” he said, adding that this has been going on since 2009 and even before.
“My appeal to all political parties is that in the Parliament or state assemblies they should abstain from making charges and counter-charges without ascertaining the facts. Our endeavour should be to strengthen democratic institutions, as all of them work with accountability,” Birla said, adding that the effort is to ensure that all members freely but responsibly express their views.
“I urge all political parties should abstain from making allegations on any democratic institution without any basis,” he also said.
In a tweet in Hindi, Yechury also said,”the more useless the government, the more cowardly it is. Democracy is being mocked, by issuing such dictatorial orders. Protesting in the Parliament House Complex is a political right of the MPs which is being violated.”
Another opposition leader Manoj Jha of RJD shared the circular and sought the immediate intervention of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker.
“Bringing a Parliamentary Bulletin to say that we cannot hold a dharna inside the Parliament. It is an attempt to take parliamentary democracy to the grave. We demand that the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman should intervene immediately,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
TMC’s Mahua Moitra took a swipe at the Prime Minister for holding a religious ceremony “on top of the new Parliament building”.
“Btw Honourable MP Varanasi performed a religious ceremony on top of new Parliament Building just four days ago,” Moitra said in a tweet.
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi while sharing the circular on Twitter asked, “Will they come for Parliamentary Questions next? PS: Hope this isn’t an unparliamentary question to ask.”
Opposition members have in the past demonstrated inside the Parliament complex and have also staged protests near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi there.
The circular on dharnas comes amid opposition outrage over another bulletin listing out certain words as “unparliamentary” which was issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
The circular on the usage of some terms in Parliament has also drawn flak from the Opposition which claimed that every expression used by them to describe how the BJP was destroying India has now been declared unparliamentary.
However, the Lok Sabha Speaker on Thursday said no word has been banned for use in Parliament but will be expunged on a contextual basis.
Members are free to express their views while maintaining the decorum of the House, he said.
He also said that every year words are added to the list of unparliamentary words and these are such words and expressions that have been declared unparliamentary in Parliament, state legislatures and in some commonwealth countries in the past.
He, however, said that the Chair’s decision on whether to expunge the words or expressions is final.
A new booklet by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Wednesday that the use of terms like ‘jumlajeevi’, ‘baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘Snoopgate’ and even commonly used words like ‘ashamed’, ‘abused, ‘betrayed’, ‘corrupt’, ‘drama’, ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘incompetent’ will henceforth be considered unparliamentary in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
NAGPUR: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday slammed the decision of prohibiting demonstrations and dharnas in the precincts of Parliament House, calling it an attack on democratic rights of elected representatives.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat, in a circular, has said demonstrations, dharnas or religious ceremonies cannot be held in the precincts of Parliament House.
The move has drawn ire of the Opposition, but authorities termed the issuance of such notices as “routine” affair ahead of Parliament sessions.
Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said “Any attack on democratic rights will not be tolerated.”
The Rajya Sabha MP said opposition parties are meeting in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the issue and frame a collective stand.
The monsoon session of Parliament is beginning on July 18.
Pawar said when MPs’ voice is not heard inside Parliament, they stage a walkout and hold peaceful protests at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the premises.
“That right is being denied,” the former Union minister said, adding such an action will not be tolerated.
On the issue of the Shiv Sena, an ally of the NCP in Maharashtra, supporting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee Droupadi Murmu for President’s post, Pawar said, “Every political party has the right to take its own decisions.”
Pawar said continuation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, consisting of the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena, for contesting future elections has not been discussed in his party.
“It is my personal view that the MVA should contest elections together,” the NCP patriarch said.
He said 15 days have passed since a new government was formed in Maharashtra, but only “two people” are running the administration as of now.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP took oath on June 30.
“Why is there a delay in cabinet formation is not known. The only work they are doing now is scrapping decisions of the (erstwhile) MVA government. This is not a good precedent ,” Pawar said.
The former Union minister said the country’s economy was getting into trouble and appropriate steps must be taken to revive it.
Asked about the falling value of the rupee against the US dollar, he said India’s economic conditions do not appear to be good.
“The country’s economy is heading towards trouble. It is responsibility of the government of the day to see how to keep the economy in good shape and take proper steps for its growth. We will raise this issue in Parliament,” the veteran parliamentarian said.
Asked about the political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, Pawar said these are very sensitive issues.
“China has to some extent transgressed (the LAC) and entered into some parts of our side. In this situation, the government has not yet told the country what stand it has taken on the issue. I feel it is a very important matter and no politics should be brought into this issue. All should be united,” the former defence minister said.
Asked what issues the Opposition will raise in Parliament during the monsoon session, Pawar said two meetings have been scheduled on Saturday in New Delhi – one of the opposition and the other an all-party meeting called by the government.
“In the all-party meeting we will listen to what the government has to say and then there will be a meeting of opposition parties, where we will discuss and decide our strategy inside Parliament,” the Rajya Sabha member said.
Asked whether the Shinde-led government will remain in office till the rest of the term of the current Assembly (till late 2024), Pawar avoided a direct reply and said he was not an astrologer to predict future happenings.
Demonstrations, dharnas or religious ceremonies cannot be held in the precincts of Parliament House, a circular by the Rajya Sabha secretariat has said, drawing ire from the Opposition on Friday even as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla insisted that such notices were being issued for years.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that the circular has not been issued for the first time and such advice has been reiterated from time to time.
They said such a circular is issued normally ahead of every session of Parliament.
The secretariat also provided copies of the similar circular issued during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2013 and said such circulars are being issued for many years now.
The new bulletin, which has been issued by Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 18, said the kind cooperation of members is solicited.
“Members cannot use the precincts of the Parliament House for any demonstration, dharna, strike, fast, or for the purpose of performing any religious ceremony,” the bulletin said.
Reacting strongly to the circular, the opposition parties attacked the government.
Congress general secretary and chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh was among the first ones to take to Twitter to attack the government.
“Vishguru’s latest salvo – D(h)arna Mana Hai!,” he tweeted, sharing a copy of the circular issued on July 14.
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury also took to Twitter to criticise the government and alleged that these are attempts to muzzle the voice of democracy.
“What a farce. The attempts to muzzle the soul of India, its democracy and its very voice will fall flat,” he said.
After the opposition uproar over the circular, Speaker Birla told reporters that political parties should refrain from making allegations without ascertaining the facts.
“It (such circulars to members) is a process. This practice has been carrying on for a long time,” he said, adding that this has been going on since 2009 and even before.
“My appeal to all political parties is that in the Parliament or state assemblies they should abstain from making charges and counter-charges without ascertaining the facts. Our endeavour should be to strengthen democratic institutions, as all of them work with accountability,” Birla said, adding that the effort is to ensure that all members freely but responsibly express their views.
“I urge all political parties should abstain from making allegations on any democratic institution without any basis,” he also said.
In a tweet in Hindi, Yechury also said,”the more useless the government, the more cowardly it is. Democracy is being mocked, by issuing such dictatorial orders. Protesting in the Parliament House Complex is a political right of the MPs which is being violated.”
Another opposition leader Manoj Jha of RJD shared the circular and sought the immediate intervention of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker.
“Bringing a Parliamentary Bulletin to say that we cannot hold a dharna inside the Parliament. It is an attempt to take parliamentary democracy to the grave. We demand that the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman should intervene immediately,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
TMC’s Mahua Moitra took a swipe at the Prime Minister for holding a religious ceremony “on top of the new Parliament building”.
“Btw Honourable MP Varanasi performed a religious ceremony on top of new Parliament Building just four days ago,” Moitra said in a tweet.
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi while sharing the circular on Twitter asked, “Will they come for Parliamentary Questions next? PS: Hope this isn’t an unparliamentary question to ask.”
Opposition members have in the past demonstrated inside the Parliament complex and have also staged protests near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi there.
The circular on dharnas comes amid opposition outrage over another bulletin listing out certain words as “unparliamentary” which was issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
The circular on the usage of some terms in Parliament has also drawn flak from the Opposition which claimed that every expression used by them to describe how the BJP was destroying India has now been declared unparliamentary.
However, the Lok Sabha Speaker on Thursday said no word has been banned for use in Parliament but will be expunged on a contextual basis.
Members are free to express their views while maintaining the decorum of the House, he said.
He also said that every year words are added to the list of unparliamentary words and these are such words and expressions that have been declared unparliamentary in Parliament, state legislatures and in some commonwealth countries in the past.
He, however, said that the Chair’s decision on whether to expunge the words or expressions is final.
A new booklet by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Wednesday that the use of terms like ‘jumlajeevi’, ‘baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘Snoopgate’ and even commonly used words like ‘ashamed’, ‘abused, ‘betrayed’, ‘corrupt’, ‘drama’, ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘incompetent’ will henceforth be considered unparliamentary in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
