Plaints against 19 MPs rejected over procedure; Naidu calls for awareness about Ethics panel rules
New Delhi: The Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha rejected complaints against 19 MPs as they were filed without following prescribed procedures, prompting Upper House Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to direct officials to create awareness among public about the functioning of the panel, sources said.
A proposal has also been moved to Ethics Committee Chairman Prabhat Jha to re-examine the present rules regarding admission of complaints against MPs.
Naidu's direction came after a review of the functioning of the Ethics Committee last week.
During the meeting, it came to his notice that 22 complaints against 19 members of Rajya Sabha during the last four years had to be returned by the Committee without examination, the sources said.
This was done since complaints were not made in accordance with the prescribed procedure, they said.
The Ethics Committee of the Upper House oversees the conduct of members and examines complaints of unethical conduct to enable its effective functioning.
The complaints against 19 Rajya Sabha members of eight major parties from both the ruling and opposition benches, besides two independent members, were not taken up for preliminary examination by the Ethics Committee as they were not directly addressed to the authorities mentioned under Rule 295, the sources said.
Of these 22 complaints, 13 were referred to the RS secretariat by the Department of Personnel and Training, four each by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Lok Sabha secretariat, and one by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, on being addressed to them by the complainants.
Now the Rajya Sabha secretariat has forwarded a proposal to the Ethics Committee Chairman to re-examine the present rules regarding admission of complaints.
As per Rule 295 of the 'Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States', any person can make a complaint of unethical conduct against a member of the House in writing either to the Ethics Committee or an officer authorized by the Committee, officials said.
The sources said the Committee can also take up such matters suo moto. Under Rule 296, Ethics Committee may take up the complaints for preliminary inquiry, if it is made in proper form.
Under Rule 303, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha may refer any question involving unethical conduct and other misconduct of a member to the Committee for examination, investigation and report.
Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha, the first of it's kind for legislatures in the country, was set up in 1997 to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the members as internal self-regulatory mechanism.
The Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha has so far submitted ten reports, officials said.
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Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
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