'Expunge Remarks Against Sonia Gandhi': Mallikarjun Kharge Requests Naidu

Kharge also requested that the BJP's Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal tender apologies for their statements.

Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to house chairperson Venkaiah Naidu, requesting him to expunge remarks by BJP MPs

(Photo: PTI)

Congress MP and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday, 29 July, wrote to house chairperson Venkaiah Naidu, requesting him to expunge remarks made by Union ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal against Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha.

Speaking on the incident, Kharge said:

“Smt Nirmala Sitharaman raised the matter with regard to usage of a term by Leader of Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha in regard to Hon'ble President of India and in this context, she inter alia stated ‘demand an apology from the President of the Congress Party.”

Congress MP and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge

He added, "When the house reassembled at 12:00 hrs, Leader of the House Shri Piyush Goyal inter alia stated, 'Congress ki adhyaksho ko is vishay par maafi maangni chahiye. (Congress legislators should apologise in this regard)."

Highlighting the 1987 ruling by then-Rajya Sabha chairperson R Venkataraman, which states that no person who is not a member of the Rajya Sabha can be referred to in a derogatory manner in the house, Kharge wrote:

“One of the time-honoured conventions is that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or members of the other House... Even a Question of Privilege cannot be raised directly in one House against the members of the other House.”

To “emphasise upon the sanctity of sovereignty of each House of Parliament and its members,” Kharge also mentioned a procedure based on a report by the Joint Sitting of Committees of Privileges of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

According to the Congress leader, the ruling states that when a question of breach of privilege or contempt of the House is raised in either Houses, the presiding officer of the House in which the question of privilege is raised refers the case to the presiding officer of the other House.

“Hence, mentioning and making remarks in regard to a member of the Lower House in the Upper House is a gross violation of the time-honoured conventions,” Kharge says.

Kharge requested the House chairperson to expunge remarks made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and also requested that “they tender their apology for their violation of sacrosanct conventions of the House."

Meanwhile, Congress workers staged protests in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi demanding Smriti Irani's resignation for her alleged misbehaviour with Sonia Gandhi in Parliament

What Happened in the Lok Sabha

On Thursday, the Lok Sabha on Thursday saw a tense showdown between Irani and Gandhi, with the BJP leader demanding that the latter apologise for Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's contentious "Rashtrapatni" remark.

After Irani's high-decibel diatribe against Gandhi, targeting her over the purported derogation of the president, the party chief allegedly retaliated with a curt "Don't talk to me."

The BJP has claimed that Gandhi walked up to MP Rama Devi in the Lower House, asking what her fault was. Irani intervened in the situation, which is when the Congress president allegedly spoke with hostility.

The Congress, however, has contended this saying that all that Gandhi did was approach Rama Devi in a "dignified manner," and that she was then heckled and gheraoed by the BJP.