On Monday, Jagdeep Dhankhar, the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, warned members against making generalisations or making baseless accusations in the House. Members will be required to provide documentation to support their charges, and Dhankhar warned that failure to do so could result in repercussions.
Dhankhar’s comments are made in the context of members making allegations in the heat of the moment that may not be factually accurate or using strong language. According to reports, several MPs have in the past cited information sent over social media by phoney sources. The statements spoken in public are protected by privilege and cannot be challenged in court.
Sanjay Singh, an AAP member, brought up the subject of police raids on politicians at Monday’s Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha.
“The way that investigation agencies have been abused in recent years against the opposition leaders is obvious. 3,000 raids were carried out by the ED (Enforcement Directorate), but just 23 cases—or 0.5%—resulted in convictions. This is definitely not right. Why is this ED being so quiet about Nirav Modi, who perpetrated a 20,000 crore fraud? “Sanjay Singh remarked.
Dhankhar stepped in and cautioned the group to keep their comments true.”When the member made reference to a letter that a chief minister had addressed to the prime minister, I told her to put the message on the House’s table. I’m quite cautious about it because it would be a serious violation of privilege for any member of this House to reveal material that hasn’t been substantiated…
Everything expressed in this House must be conveyed with clarity, integrity, and ownership “said he.
“I shall ask the member to place the pertinent record on the House’s table. If the record is missing, I will ask the members for advice since it would be a breach of privilege, Dhankhar cautioned, adding that the document’s integrity had to be proven. “A newspaper article or an opinion has no bearing at all. What I need is a document that is acceptable in court.
Singh was supported by Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who asserted that just responses to starred and unstarred questions in Parliament could not be taken as reliable sources of information. “We trust what the Prime Minister says outside the House is genuine, and his stats are accurate. the promise of two crore employment
Piyush Goyal, the leader of the House, responded to Kharge by saying that the opposition is increasingly using the tactic of “shooting and scooting”. He said that unsupported claims are exploited on social media by uninformed individuals. Similar to this, information collected outside of the scope of the Right to Information Act or starred inquiries is spread.
Goyal said that the claim that 3,000 raids on politicians were conducted was absolutely false and devoid of any merit. “By defending the interests of the people, we are doing a public service.”
Sanjay Singh informed the House that the government’s response to Priyanka Chaturvedi’s query served as the basis for his calculations (Shiv Sena). He said that the Reddy brothers, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Nitin Sandesara, BS Yeddyurappa, and Nirav Modi had all been left unpunished by the government. When a “adjudicating system” is already in operation, Dhankhar cautioned Singh against making a “sweeping assertion” that nothing has been done.
Rajya Sabha Chair requests that MPs refrain from making baseless accusations.
