New Delhi: Rajya Sabha chairman and vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar walked out of the House briefly with a “heavy heart” on Thursday (August 8) after an uproar in the House which saw the opposition staging a walkout when they were not allowed to raise the issue of wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics. Dhankhar said that the chair has been challenged in recent days and he did not find it suitable to sit in the House for sometime.
“For sometime I am not finding myself in a position to sit here,” said Dhankar adding that he is leaving the house with a “heavy heart”.
The uproar started in the Rajya Sabha soon after proceedings began with the opposition demanding a discussion on Phogat’s disqualification.
“Yesterday only we raised this issue and it is a very important issue not only concerned to a particular issue,” said leader of opposition and Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge.
Kharge said that the opposition wanted to discuss her disqualification and “who is behind it and only 100 gm-,” he said but Dhankhar interjected and said nothing will go on record.
As opposition members raised loud protests, Dhankhar called the next speaker. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien could be heard raising an issue, to which Dhankhar retorted that he was “shouting at the Chair.”
“You are shouting at the chair. Your conduct is ugliest in the House. I condemn your actions. Next time I will show you the door. How dare you shout at the chair? And senior leaders are not saying anything,” he said to O’Brien.
Opposition members then staged a walkout shouting slogans of “Vinesh Phogat ko nyay do” (Give justice to Vinesh Phogat).
While opposition members returned after some time, Dhankhar harked back to the Emergency and said that the opposition’s conduct shows that they are a “law unto themselves” and only “their hearts bleed” for Phogat.
“We have seen the ugliest of scenes. We saw a dark phase of our democracy during the Emergency. We know how it starts. It starts with a challenge to parliamentary institutions. And the challenge was there on June 25, 1975. A serious challenge. Can anyone countenance this kind of conduct? They are law unto themselves. They think they are all wise. They think they are the only ones whose hearts are bleeding,” he said.
“The entire nation is in pain because of the girl. Everyone is sharing the situation but to monetise it, politicise it, is the greatest disrespect to that girl. That girl has a long way to go. I was so happy that the state of Haryana immediately announced that we will give her all commendations, all financial relief that is due to a medal winner. There is a state government that has recognised [her] as a medal winner. And here I would urge you all with folded hands, many of you are senior to me. Let us have a bipartisan view on issues like this.”
The opposition had also staged a walkout on Wednesday after they were not allowed to raise Phogat’s disqualification in the House. Dhankhar said that he had asked Kharge to send him in writing about the issue he wishes to raise.
“And the response that I got from him, ‘I want to raise an issue of urgent public importance’. Do I make anything out of it? Do I know the subject and urgency? In the process, the leader of the opposition has an idea of the chair that the chair is a rubber stamp or just a post office to send the communication to give the floor. When I give the floor it is watched by 1.4 billion people,” he said.
“Sir you walked out and you came, in the process you hurt more than a billion people. In the process you set aflame democratic traditions. By walking out the insult to the chair, did you see yourself how Derek O’Brien floor leader of TMC shouted at the chair? Is it the way?” Dhankhar added.
Leader of House J.P. Nadda then rose from his seat and said that the opposition’s behaviour towards the chair is “condemnable”.
“The behaviour of the opposition in Parliament is reprehensible and a violation of parliamentary decorum. Democracy allows everyone to speak but according to procedure. But when procedure is not followed it affects democracy. I said yesterday also Congress and the TMC their behaviour towards the chair is condemnable. This is a time to introspect for MPs who have been here for a long time,” said Nadda.
Nadda said that the whole country is “emotionally connected” with Phogat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken for the country when he called her a “champion of champions” on Wednesday.
“This is the voice of 140 crore people. But there is an attempt to divide this into opposition and government. The opposition does not have any solid issue on which it wants to discuss for which the ruling party is ready to discuss on all issues including in the Rajya Sabha. Attempts to resolve the problems (on Phogat) on whatever platform that could have been made have been made by the Government of India, the Ministry of Sports and the Indian Olympic Association,” he said.
“The way your chair has been insulted is condemnable,” Nadda said.
Dhankhar then chose to leave the House briefly, leaving zero hour to be conducted by deputy chairman Harivansh. Before leaving, Dhankhar said that there is a challenge being laid to the chairman’s post in recent days through words, actions and newspapers.
“This is not me who is being challenged. This is a challenge to the chairman’s post. This challenge is being given because according to them the person sitting here is not suitable for the post. I have not got the support of the House as I sought. Now I have only one solution..Now what I have seen..I don’t want to shy away from my responsibility but what I have seen and the behaviour I have seen today..For sometime I am not finding myself in a position to sit here…,” he said and announced that he is leaving with a “heavy heart”.
