Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2.30 pm over Manipur issue, expunging of words

The opening day of the Monsoon session of Parliament had witnessed heated exchanges over the Manipur violence and the May 4 video of two women being paraded naked in the northeastern state.

While the House proceedings were washed out in protests, Dhankhar had expunged references made by O'Brien seeking the prime minister's response to the violence.

On Friday, he sought to raise a point of order over the expunging of the words.

Rajya Sabha proceedings were on Friday, July 21, adjourned in the pre-lunch session after an uproar over the Manipur violence and the chair expunging certain words from proceedings of the House.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 2.30 pm as TMC's Derek O'Brien sought to raise a point of order over the expunging of certain words from the House proceedings on Thursday.

Referring to the rule and page number from the rule book, O'Brien said the rule pertains to expunging of words used in Parliament -- what can be used and what can't be.

"Three words were expunged. Yesterday we said the Prime Minister should open his mouth on Manipur. Prime Minister got expunged. Manipur got expunged. Why?" he asked.

While he sought to know if any of the words were not fit for Parliamentary proceedings, the chairman repeatedly asked what his point of order was.

As Derek O'Brien tried to explain, the House plunged into disorder. At this point, Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 2.30 pm.

O'Brien walked up to the Chair's podium to convey the point he was raising but Dhankar left the chamber.

Earlier, after official papers were laid, Dhankhar started reading out time allocated for government business. He began this by mentioning The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that is to replace an ordinance on services in Delhi.

Even before he could complete it, AAP MPs were up on their feet calling the bill "unconstitutional". Dhankhar asked them to maintain decorum in the House.

But MPs from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including Sanjay Singh, continued to object, saying no bill can be brought that is unconstitutional.

"I give time to everyone in accordance with rules. This House is the house of elders. Our conduct is being watched by more than 1.3 billion people. We have to be exemplary in our conduct so that we can be appreciated. It is not a public street. It is not a platform," the chairman said.

As the AAP MPs continued to protest, he asked them to read the constitution and get guidance. "Get enlightened so that people do not laugh at us. What is unconstitutional is not in a word that is why you need to study."

K Keshava Rao of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) wanted to know if the House can take up an issue that is pending before a court.

The Supreme Court on Thursday referred a petition against the ordinance to a 5-member constitution bench. Dhankhar responded saying the constitution puts a bar on discussion in the House in a very qualified manner.

"This House is entitled to discuss everything under the planet with one restriction. That one restriction is germane to the issue Dr Keshav raised," he said adding Article 121 puts restrictions on discussion in Parliament on conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court in the discharge of his duties.

The exemption to this rule is when the House was considering an impeachment motion against the judge. "Therefore, the concept of sub-judice is totally misconceived," he ruled. But the AAP MPs continued to protest.

Dhankhar told Sanjay Singh that he may have to name him if he doesn't take his seat. An MP named by the Chair has to withdraw from proceedings of the House for the rest of the day.

He had similar advice for Raghav Chadha, also of the AAP, and asked him not to run down his reputation.

At this point, Pramod Tiwari of the Congress raised the issue of furore in the country over the shameful incident in Manipur. His party colleagues joined him in raising the issue.

Derek O'Brien then raised his point of order over the expunging of remarks.