MP Raghav Chadha demands vote division motion for suspensions of MP Sanjay Singh
New Delhi: Raghav Chadha, AAP Senior Leader and Rajya Sabha MP, has responded strongly to the Rajya Sabha Chairman's suspension of fellow party MP and Sanjay Singh for the entire monsoon session by the Rajya Sabha Chairman for questioning him on the Manipur issue. In a statement to the media on Tuesday, MP Raghav Chadha slammed the BJP government at the Center, saying that it is unprecedented in Parliament for a Rajya Sabha MP to be suspended for raising concerns about a critical problem of the country.
He stated that suspending an MP for the entire session is only done in exceptional circumstances. "This is done when that MP has committed a violent act inside the Parliament, has torn a resolution of the Parliament and thrown it towards the Chairman's chair, or has otherwise harmed the dignity of the Parliament." However, it is extremely regrettable that our Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has been suspended from the entire session for simply approaching the chair and asking questions."
He stated that the incident in Manipur is a matter of national security, not just state security. Therefore, there is a need for a detailed and special discussion on this issue in the Parliament, he added. He stated that the unrest in Manipur has begun to affect neighboring states as well. Today, an incident occurred in Mizoram in which members of a particular community were attacked and asked to leave the state. "If this issue is not resolved quickly, it could become a threat to the entire North-East states," he said.
He claimed that not only were Articles 355 and 356 of the Constitution breached in Manipur, but there was also an attack on humanity. "The government has proven to be a total failure when it comes to maintaining peace and order." The government no longer has control over the law and order situation. As a result, the central government should immediately dissolve Manipur's Biren Singh government and impose President's control there," he remarked.
The MP also resorted to Twitter to address the situation. "Today in Parliament, I took a stand against the suspension of my colleague MP Sanjay Singh by raising a pertinent point of order," he wrote. I asked a division of votes under Rajya Sabha rules 255 and 256 to resolve the issue of his suspension in a transparent manner. The numbers were heavily stacked against the treasury benches at the moment of requesting division, yet the petition for vote division was turned down."
He further wrote, "Parliament functions on the basis of rules of procedure and past precedents." In the Rajya Sabha today, I used an important precedent in order to compel a debate on the difficult problem of Manipur. On August 17, 2012, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha received many letters from MPs asking a discussion on attacks on migrants from northeast India in various states. He quickly ended the question period and began the discussion on the attacks under Rule 267. Given the enormity of the current crisis in Manipur, it should be authorized for discussion, following the precedent set in 2012 and under the same rule 267."