The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday held 12 opposition MPs, including the AAP’s Sanjay Singh, guilty of misconduct for disrupting House proceedings last August and cautioned them to desist from such behaviour in future.
In the report tabled in the Upper House of Parliament on Thursday, the privileges panel held AAP MP Sanjay Singh guilty of disregarding the directions of the Chairman.
It has accepted Singh’s unconditional apology in the matter and recommended revocation of his suspension after considering that the punishment suffered by him was sufficient.
The AAP MP was suspended from the Rajya Sabha on July 24, 2023, through a motion, for the breach of privilege on account of wilfully disregarding the directions of the chair, repeatedly violating rules of the house and casting aspersions on the leader of the House.
“The committee concludes that the 12 members, namely Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Naranbhai J. Rathwa, L Hanumanthaiah, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kumar Ketkar, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham, Ranjeet Ranjan and Imran Pratapgarhi are held guilty of serious transgression of privileges and commission of contempt of the Council of States.
“The committee, accordingly, recommends that no action is warranted against Kumar Ketkar, Naranbhai J Rathwa and L Hanumanthaiah who have since retired from membership of the council.
“That Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Syed Nasir Hussain, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham, Ranjeet Ranjan and Imran Pratapgarhi should desist from indulging in such misconduct in future and scrupulously adhere to exemplary conduct and optimize their performance in the House,” the panel said in its report.
The committee’s report also stated that in view of the motion adopted by the Council on August 11 last year, “the suspension suffered by Sanjay Singh be treated as sufficient punishment and his suspension may be revoked with immediate effect with the hope and expectation that there will be scrupulous adherence to the accepted conduct regime in the House by him in future”.
“The Committee requests the Chairman of Rajya Sabha to consider discontinuance of the suspension of Sanjay Singh without waiting for the Council to re-assemble for the ensuing Session.” The panel, in another report, held that by outrageous misconduct of MPs, “not only the temple of democracy has been sacrileged but also the people’s faith desecrated and constitutional ordainment disregarded”.
“An unbecoming conduct of Member of Parliament by engaging in transgression and flouting of rules if countenanced would be no less than the death knell of democracy. Although the members concerned have tendered an apology, the committee is of the view that the same does not meet the criteria mentioned in the 75th Report of the committee for accepting them to be an unqualified apology.
With inputs from News18
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