New Delhi: A day after unruly scenes were witnessed in Rajya Sabha, its Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday held discussions with officials of the upper house who told him that no outsiders were deployed as marshals inside the House.
The chairman also met delegations of opposition leaders and the government and listened to their respective versions of events that took place in the House on August 11.
Naidu held an hour-long meeting with the senior officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on the proceedings and turn of events in the House over the last few days, including the issue of deployment of marshals on Wednesday.
In his meeting with the senior officials of the Secretariat, the chairman enquired about the unruly incidents in Parliament in the past, committees constituted on the same by the presiding officers, reports submitted and actions taken.
A discussion is underway over the formation of a committee to look into unruly events that took place in the upper house, a demand made by the government, sources said.
The opposition had earlier alleged that outsiders were deployed in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat who allegedly manhandled MPs, including some women members.
The Rajya Sabha officials were asked by the chairman to report to him on the manner and scale of deployment later in the day.
“Later the officials told Naidu that no outsiders were deployed as marshals in the Rajya Sabha on August 10,” a statement from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.
They said only the watch and ward staff of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats were deployed, which is permitted, based on the need, the statement said.
“They also informed that only 14 marshals were deployed to start with and were gradually scaled up to 42, based on the situation in the House and in view of the incidents in the House on previous days,” it said.
Naidu assured the delegation of opposition leaders that he will look into the alleged incidents involving some members of the House and marshals, and urged them to ensure smooth functioning of the House by upholding the dignity and stature of the House.
He told the opposition leaders that he was “deeply hurt” by the incidents in the House on August 10 and such unruly behaviour by some members is “not pardonable and necessary action needs to be taken against erring members”.
The chairman said even he was not being allowed to make important observations in the House.
The opposition delegation led by Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge broadly raised three issues – the manner of passing of the General Insurance Bill, the manner and scale of deployment of marshals and preventing some members of the House from discharging their functions.
Kharge also submitted a representation signed by him and other leaders of opposition parties to the chairman stating that a very large number of security personnel, who were not part of the regular watch and ward staff of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, were deployed in the House on August 10.
The opposition leaders contended that the timing of passing of the General Insurance Bill violated the understanding with the government with regard to the timing.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi and the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal asserted that the passing of the General Insurance Bill on Wednesday was preceded by discussions with leaders of some opposition parties.
They said it was in pursuance of an earlier understanding that the House would sit beyond the scheduled hours, if required to complete the business for the day, as notified in the bulletin on July 23.
“They took serious objection to what they called a predetermined strategy of not allowing the House to function, and the conduct of some members in the House on August 10 when some members sat and stood on the table of the House, the statement said.
Reiterating that ensuring smooth functioning of the House was the collective responsibility of both the government and the opposition, the chairman urged the delegation to do its best in this regard.
The 14-member opposition delegation included Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Sharad Pawar, Ramgopal Yadav, Tiruchi Siva, Sanjay Raut, Elamaram Karim, Binoy Viswam, Manoj K Jha, Abdul Wahab, MV Shreyams Kumar.
The government delegation included Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupender Yadav, V Muralidharan and Arjun Ram Meghwal.
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