NEW DELHI: Vice-president and Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday refuted the allegation of leader of opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge’s allegation that his microphone was switched off while he was speaking on the previous day.
The opposition MPs have been shouting slogans and demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur. The ruckus has been adversely affecting the business of the House.
A semblance of normalcy returned to the Upper House briefly on the fifth day of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. Dhankhar gave an opportunity to the opposition leaders to raise their concerns.
Before offering the floor to Kharge, he refuted news reports quoting the Congress leaders as alleging that the leader of opposition’s mike was switched off while he making a point in the House on Tuesday.
Kharge, who is also the Congress president, repeated the charge and went on to state that his privileges as an MP were breached and he was insulted. He said, “I was placing my issues before the House. When 50 people gave notices under Rule 267, I did not even get a chance to speak in Parliament. Okay. But when I was speaking, my mike was switched off. This is undermining my privileges. This is an insult to me. They have challenged my self-respect. And if the House runs on the instructions of the government, then I will understand that it is not a democracy.”
While Kharge was still speaking, the vice-president interrupted him and turned to the treasury benches to make their point.
Kharge put out the video clip on Twitter later in the day.
The truce and normalcy in the House proved short-lived. Soon, the opposition members started shouting slogans and the MPs of the treasury benches also began shouting slogans.
Backing his party president, Congress MP and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said in a tweet, “By shutting his mic, they have insulted Sh Mallikarjun @kharge ji, a stalwart of Indian Parliament, one of the strongest voices challenging this regime. This is an insult to democracy itself, where any person or idea uncomfortable for the ruling regime is denied space, that too by those responsible for protecting our democratic institutions.”
The Congress MPs and members of several opposition parties staged a walkout when the House met in the second half of the day.
