Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said that he would be “violating his oath” if he imparted any directive asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be present in the House, as it was the “prerogative” of the PM, like any other MP, to be in the House or not.
As Opposition members demanded the PM’s presence in the House, Dhankhar said, “I had in categorical terms indicated very firmly on a proper Constitutional premise and precedent that from this chair, I will be violating my oath if I impart a directive for the presence of the Prime Minister. That has never been done… I cannot make up for ignorance of the statute and the Constitution. If the Prime Minister wants to come, like everyone else, it is his prerogative. From this chair, a directive of this nature, which has never been issued, will not be issued.”
Opposition leaders, who have been demanding a discussion on the ethnic violence in Manipur under Rule 267 of Rajya Sabha, later staged a walkout in protest. Rule 267 allows for suspension of the listed business for the day to discuss an issue suggested by a member.
Earlier, soon after the listed papers were tabled, Dhankhar said that he had received 58 notices under Rule 267 demanding a discussion on Manipur violence. However, the Chairman of the House did not accept the notices saying they were not in order.
Meanwhile, Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said he has given eight points in his notice underlining why discussion on Manipur should be held under Rule 267, and the PM should make a statement.
To this, Dhankhar remarked that the floor was given to the leader of the opposition but he did not utilise the opportunity “wholesomely”, leading to protests by Opposition leaders demanding the PM’s presence in the House.
As disruptions continued, Dhankhar told Kharge that he was “not well-advised” on the issue.
“You have legal luminaries on your side, find out from them. They will help you out, that under the Constitution and the prescription thereunder, I cannot give the direction, I shall not,” he said.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman also clarified that time allocated for a short-duration discussion on Manipur under Rule 176 was not limited to two-and-half hours, and there was no time limit. The government had agreed to a discussion on Manupir under Rule 176.
Amid the din, the Chair went ahead with the scheduled Zero Hour. With the Chair not accepting their demand, the opposition leaders staged a walkout.