Some leaders presented wrong narrative of proceedings in Upper House over suspension of Oppn MPs: RS Secretariat

A factually incorrect narrative has been presented based on the observations of some leaders and Members of Parliament of Rajya Sabha in the matter of stalemate over the suspension of 12 members of the House and adjournments of the Upper House, said the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Thursday.

The statement issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat comes a day after continuous disruptions due to the Opposition's ruckus over several issues including the suspension of 12 MPs, the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, and others forced both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to be adjourned sine die ahead of schedule on Wednesday.

The statement further said that the Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu constantly engaged with leaders and MPs both from the opposition and the government to find a way forward to enable the House to function normally. He has even complimented some MPs for coming forward to resolve the stalemate over the suspension issue and was in regular contact with them, it said.

Rajya Sabha Chairman, during his conversations with leaders from both sides and on several occasions in the House urged both sides to resolve the matter amicably through discussion given the stated positions of both sides, said the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

As per the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, initially, it was proposed to Chairman that LoP would express regret on behalf of all suspended MPs in the House. But an issue was raised that what if some parties whose MPs were suspended would disagree with the leader of Opposition (LoP) in case he expressed regret on behalf of all suspended.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman suggested that the best course would be to talk to all concerned parties before expressing regret for the incidents of August 11 that led to the suspension of the 12 MPs, it stated.

It was even suggested that if all parties concerned were not on board, regret could be expressed on behalf of the parties willing to do so. But nothing happened thereafter, said the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

Further, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said that the Chairman even suggested to the Centre to move a Motion for termination of suspension in case such regret was expressed.

The precedent of the then LoP, Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley expressing regret on behalf of 7 MPs (no BJP MPs suspended) for their misconduct during the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in 2010 also came up for discussions with leaders, said the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

It was recalled that some opposition parties refused to nominate their Members on the committee that the Chairman proposed to set up to enquire into the incidents of August 11 that led to the suspension of some Members.

It was recalled that Chairman on several occasions in past, both in House and outside has expressed concern over resorting to persistent disruptions as a matter of strategy to derail functioning instead of debating issues under relevant provisions by giving due Notices.

( With inputs from ANI )