Opposition MPs write to RS chairman about 'sloganeering' by visitors, demand action
New Delhi (PTI): Rajya Sabha members Mausam Noor and Priyanka Chaturvedi have written to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, complaining about "sloganeering" from the visitors' gallery of the House on September 21 and requesting him to take action in the matter.
In their letters to the chairman, Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Noor and Shiv Sena (UBT) member Chaturvedi expressed dismay that there was "political sloganeering" in the House despite the Rajya Sabha's stringent security measures and diligence of marshals. The fact that more than 50 visitors were able to raise slogans is a matter of grave concern, they said.
The incident took place in the afternoon of September 21 as the Rajya Sabha debated the women's reservation bill. Opposition MPs had walked out of the House for 10 minutes in protest.
The MPs, in their letters, said it is imperative that the incident is thoroughly investigated to ascertain how such a breach of security and decorum was possible within the confines of the Rajya Sabha.
Those responsible for the disruption must be held accountable for their actions, they added.
According to sources, other opposition parties are also likely to write to the chairman regarding the matter. An opposition leader said the incident took place when the House was debating the women's reservation bill and the visitors -- all women who had come to watch the proceedings -- raised "Modi, Modi" slogans, hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Another senior leader from one of the INDIA bloc constituents who did not wish to be named said the presiding officer should "implement rules and establish parliamentary democracy".
Opposition MPs had earlier taken a united stand against derogatory remarks made by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri against Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Danish Ali. Several opposition MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday, demanding that the matter be sent to the privileges committee of the House.
A special session of Parliament concluded on Thursday. The parliamentary proceedings shifted to a new building during the session that also saw a bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies for women getting passed. A large number of women had come to witness the proceedings as visitors as the historic bill was passed.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
