Priyanka Chaturvedi steps down as Sansad TV anchor, days after Rajya Sabha suspension

In letter to RS chairman, the Shiv Sena leader said she was unwilling to continue taking space on channel when her ‘primary oath to the Constitution was being denied’.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi in Parliament | File photo | ANI/RSTV grab

New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi Sunday stepped down as anchor of a Sansad TV show, days after she was suspended from the Rajya Sabha along with 11 other Opposition MPs.

In a letter to Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, who is also chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the former Congress leader expressed “anguish” about her “arbitrary” suspension. She wrote that she is unwilling to continue taking space on Sansad TV when her “primary oath to the Constitution is being denied”. 

Chaturvedi took to Twitter Sunday to share the letter and said she is stepping down from Sansad TV’s show Meri Kahani as an anchor. “I am unwilling to occupy space on Sansad TV for a show but denied space on it for discharging parliament duties due to arbitrary suspension. Hence, as much as I was committed to the show, I must step away,” she wrote on Twitter. 

Meri Kahani is a talk show where women parliamentarians showcase their journey as politicians. Sansad TV is the parliamentary channel launched after merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV. 

“That this suspension also chose to disregard my parliamentary track record and my contribution beyond the call of duty so as to give a platform to women parliamentarians to share their journey, I believe injustice has been done but as it is considered valid in the eyes of the chair, I must respect it,” she wrote in the letter addressed to Naidu. 

‘Need to speak up for suspended women MPs’

Chaturvedi’s letter also said that at a time when the highest number of women MPs have been suspended in the recorded history of Rajya Sabha for an entire session “for speaking up for the people of this country”, she needs to “speak up for them” and “stand in solidarity”.

“Also, not to forget 12 MPs being suspended for an entire session for their conduct in the previous session has never happened in Parliament’s history,” she added. 

Twelve Opposition members in Rajya Sabha, including Congress MP Chhaya Verma, TMC’s Dola Sen and Chaturvedi, were suspended for the remainder of the winter session on the first day for “misconduct” and “unruly behaviour” during the last session. Among the suspended members, six are from Congress, two each from the TMC and the Shiv Sena, and one each from the CPM and the CPI. 

Chaturvedi had reportedly torn up papers and thrown them towards the table of the House, which is believed to be the reason behind her suspension.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)