Rajya Sabha’s last day of Budget Session witnessed a war of words between Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar and leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. The debate arose when Congress MPs questioned the Vice-President for giving the floor to RLD’s Jayant Singh to speak on the government decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on his grandfather and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Late former Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and Narasimha Rao, BJP stalwart and former deputy PM LK Advani, the harbinger of India’s Green Revolution, MS Swaminathan, and late two-time Bihar Chief Minister and a champion of social justice, Dr Karpoori Thakur, will be conferred with the country’s highest civilian honour later this year.
Jagdeep Dhankhar said he was deeply “hurt” by the behaviour of Mallikarjun Kharge and hinted that the entire episode pained him more than the death of his young son, while also hitting out at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh claiming that he is not fit to be a member of the Upper House because of this misconduct.
Trouble started when Jagdeep Dhankhar called Jayant Singh to speak soon after the House met for the day. The Congress MPs claimed that neither did the chairman indicate when he was giving the floor to Jayant Singh nor did the business papers of the House list any statement by anyone on the government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.
During this time, Jairam Ramesh made certain remarks and asked Jayant Singh where he wanted to go, in an indirect reference to his Rashtriya Lok Dal’s align with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Lok Sabha elections.
This angered Jagdeep Dhankhar. He termed Jairam Ramesh unfit to be in the House. Later, after the discussion on the government’s ‘white paper’ on the economy, Jagdeep Dhankhar slammed Jairam Ramesh and condemned his behaviour.
“I heard what Jairam Ramesh said to Jayant…you (Ramesh) are a person who can feast at the cremation ground,” he said after the initial ruckus. “It is a matter of fact that you (Ramesh) do not deserve to be part of this House for this misconduct,” the Rajya Sabha chairman said.
Amid protest by Congress MPs, Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. Mallikarjun Kharge said there was no debate on the Centre’s decision to honour leaders with India’s highest civilian award. “I salute everyone. But if a member wants to raise an issue, you (chairman) ask ‘under which rule’. (I want to know) under which rule he (Jayant Singh) has been allowed to speak… Give permission to us also. On one side you talk about rules…you have discretion…that discretion should be used judiciously and not as and when you want,” the leader of Opposition said.
To this, Jagdeep Dhankhar reacted and accused Congress leaders of insulting Chaudhary Charan Singh and his legacy.
Jagdeep Dhankhar then read out a notice he had received from Jayant Singh to speak for a couple of minutes and allowed the RLD MP to complete his submission.
“It was a painful day for me today. I seek your protection. It becomes hard sometimes to follow a dignified path… With pain, I bring to your notice one subject for pondering… I want to share and discuss one important matter with you,” he later said.
The chairman added that the behaviour was “unexpected”, “shameful” and “painful”.
“Chaudhary Charan Singh does not belong to one family but since his grandson is a member of the House, it is a matter of pride for us. The conduct that I saw and you saw too was unprecedented, offensive and painful. The conduct of some members was so petty that I was ashamed. Many thoughts crossed my mind; one was of resignation too,” Jagdeep Dhankhar said in the House.
“I am deeply pained. Don’t forget, in the process, the kind of language used against me by the Leader of Opposition. I come from the farmers’ community; that doesn’t mean that I am weak. I have tolerated a lot, ” he added.
Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “I lost my grownup son. But today’s pain (was more) when Jayant Chaudhary was speaking, what was Jairam Ramesh saying?”
Stating that he did not want to stretch the matter, he said political arguments aside, “we should be sensitive when it comes to respect of leaders.”
Saturday was the last day of the Budget Session, which was also the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha, before the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
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Published: 11 Feb 2024, 10:06 AM IST