A video seize of parliamentarians in Rajya Sabha through the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. (RSTV/PTI Picture)
JUSTIFYING his rejection of the Opposition’s demand for a division of votes through the chaotic passage of the two farm Bills in Rajya Sabha final Sunday, Deputy Chairman Harivansh stated the demand wasn’t made by members from their seats. Amid the ruckus within the Home, he was heard saying that members need to be of their seats to demand division.
Official footage of Rajya Sabha Tv, reviewed by The Indian Express, exhibits in any other case.
Certainly, the sequence of occasions from 1 pm — when the Deputy Chairman prolonged the sitting — to 1.26 pm, when the Home was adjourned for 15 minutes, exhibits that no less than two members, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and CPM’s Ok Ok Ragesh, who had moved statutory resolutions, motions and amendments, had been of their seats after they demanded a division.
Take into account the next.
1 pm: Deputy Chairman tells Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was replying to the dialogue on the two Bills, that it was 1 pm. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi proposes extension of the Home.
Deputy Chairman asks whether or not the Home was prepared to sit down until the disposal of the Invoice. Congress members Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh demand proceedings be continued Monday. They and Siva ask the Deputy Chairman to take sense of the Home. The Deputy Chairman says there’s a consensus (aam sahmati) and asks Tomar to proceed.
Members rush to the Effectively shouting slogans.
1.03 pm: Chief of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad says if the Home is to be prolonged, that ought to be achieved “on the premise of consensus”. He provides that the majority political events “are saying that point shouldn’t be prolonged immediately and tomorrow the minister can reply…”
1.07 pm: Deputy Chairman begins disposing statutory resolutions earlier than passage of the Invoice amid slogan-shouting by Opposition members. Calls CPM’s Ok Ok Ragesh, who had moved a statutory decision. Tells an unidentified member within the Effectively to go to his seat within the gallery upstairs. Ragesh is seated within the gallery.
1.08 pm: The statutory decision is negated in a voice vote. He then takes up a movement moved by Ragesh searching for reference of the Invoice to a choose committee. The movement is negated by a voice vote.
1.09 pm: Dy Chairman says demand for division ought to be constructed from seat
1:09 pm: He takes up a movement moved by Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien searching for reference of the Invoice to a choose committee. The movement is negated by a voice vote. A voice will be heard searching for division.
Then the audio goes off for a few seconds.
The Deputy Chairman says demand for division ought to be constructed from the seat.
1.10 pm: DMK’s Tiruchi Siva in his seat asking for division
1.10 pm: He takes up a movement moved by DMK member Tiruchi Siva searching for reference of the Invoice to a choose committee. The movement is negated by a voice vote. The visuals clearly present Siva in his seat, with one hand raised demanding division. O’Brien rushes to the Chairman’s podium with a duplicate of the rule e-book in his hand and shouting “you can not do that….what’s the rule”. The visuals present Siva nonetheless in his seat.
Moments later, TMC’s Derek O’Brien in Effectively
1.11 pm: Deputy Speaker begins clause by clause consideration of the Invoice. He takes up amendments moved by Ragesh to clause II. The visuals present Ragesh in his seat upstairs demanding division. The amendments had been negated in a voice vote.
1.11 pm: CPM’s Ok Ok Ragesh in his seat asking for division
1.12 pm: Visuals present Ragesh in his seat and Siva tearing papers from his seat. Commotion intensifies.
1.13 pm: Unidentified member tries to uproot microphones put in on the Chairman’s podium.
1.14 pm: Audio goes off — and stays off.
1.26 pm: Home adjourned for 15 minutes.
When contacted, O’Brien stated he shouted “division” from his seat when the movement moved by him searching for reference of the Invoice to a choose committee was taken up.
“Between us, Siva and I’ve 30 years of expertise in Parliament. We knew we had moved motions, we had our headsets on. In fact, we had been at our seats. Our requires ‘division’ (voting) had been overtly ignored a number of instances. The video and audio proof is damning. No less than 4 Guidelines of Parliament had been damaged”, he instructed The Sunday Categorical.
When contacted, Ragesh stated: “I went to the Effectively when the Chairman prolonged the time. However when the Minister stopped his speech and the Deputy Chairman started the method of disposing the statutory resolutions, I rushed again to my seat upstairs… I used to be on my seat when my searching for reference of the Invoice to a choose committee was taken up. I screamed division however the Deputy Chairman didn’t search for at me. When the Deputy Chairman took up my modification after O’Brien’s and Siva’s motions, my microphone got here alive. The Deputy Chairman checked out me…When the Chair checked out you…solely then the digital camera centered on you…I once more screamed for division…he took a voice vote and negated by modification.”
Explaining why the Opposition requested for a deferment till Monday, Ragesh stated, “Since half the Rajya Sabha members had been sitting in Lok Sabha, digital voting wouldn’t be potential. Voting will be achieved solely via paper poll. So voting even as soon as would have taken no less than 30 minutes. That’s the reason we demanded that the proceedings be continued on Monday as Lok Sabha’s sitting was to start at three pm.”
When contacted, Siva stated: “From Day One, I’ve been saying that I used to be in my seat very a lot and requested for division when my identify was known as for the movement on the choose committee. The Choose Committee was our core situation. I used to be very a lot in my seat and I shouted division a number of instances. He (Deputy Chairman) didn’t have a look at me. Solely when he appears to be like at me he’ll know that I’m asking for it.”
The Deputy Chairman didn’t reply to questions despatched to him by The Sunday Categorical. However sources within the secretariat stated he was “distracted” by members who had been transferring near his podium as he was attempting to see that the papers weren’t snatched from him.
The Home not being so as additionally tied his arms as heavy legislative enterprise for the session demanded passage of the laws the identical day, these sources stated. Furthermore, they argued that had the Opposition not disturbed the proceedings, there would have been a division of votes because the first merchandise itself to be disposed of was the statutory decision by an opposition member.
📣 The Indian Categorical is now on Telegram. Click on here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and keep up to date with the most recent headlines
For all the most recent India News, obtain Indian Express App.
© The Indian Categorical (P) Ltd
