India
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claims Vice President Dhankar is ‘constantly harassing’ the opposition in Rajya Sabha | India News – Times of India
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge (file photo)
Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, alleged that Dhankar was resorting to “unwarranted insistence on authentication”.
He further alleged that Dhankar repeatedly criticized “opposition leaders outside House, often echoing the arguments of the ruling party (BJP).
“Muzzling the ‘right to speak’ and ‘expression’ of the opposition in Rajya Sabha has become the norm,” Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The Congress leader alleged that the Rajya Sabha chairman “routinely directs the arbitrary and malafide deletion of critical portions of speeches of opposition members, including the Leader of the Opposition”.
Rajya Sabha witnessed a huge uproar on Thursday as the finance ministry and opposition benches exchanged charges over a no-confidence notice against Dhankhar, with the BJP linking the Congress with American billionaire investors. George Soros.
‘What is the relationship between Sonia Gandhi and Soros? The country wants to know,” BJP chief JP Nadda asked in Parliament, criticizing Congress MPs who accused Dhankar of “encouraging reckless allegations” instead of containing them.
‘The house is not in order. They make reckless accusations. You listen and encourage…” Kharge told the chairman.
“Democracy runs on two wheels: one is the opposition party, the other is the ruling party and you are the referee. But if you take unilateral decisions, it is a setback for the country and democracy…” Kharge said.
Moreover, Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) filed a privilege motion against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, accusing him of making derogatory remarks against opposition leaders in the Upper House.
The move comes after Rijiju said in a speech to opposition members on Wednesday: “If you cannot respect the Speaker, you have no right to be a member of this House.”
Rijiju’s controversial comments came amid opposition leaders’ criticism of Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
