Can 'honourable' LS members get away with such behaviour?

From President of India to legislators, the word 'Honourable' is used as a prefix out of courtesy since they hold constitutional posts.

In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, as in other traditionally lower houses of Parliament and other legislatures, members must be referred to each other as the Honourable Member or my Honourable Friend. That is the minimum courtesy.

In the Falkland Islands, the prefix, 'honourable' is given to any serving or former members of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council. In the Isle of Man, the word honourable is used to refer to a minister while holding office. It means that they deserve respect or high regard because of the high position they are holding.

I have serious doubt if any of our honourable members know or realise why they are called honourable? Till about three decades back, this decorum was seriously and sincerely followed in Parliament and legislatures.

But now somewhere some aberration has taken place and the forums where honourable members are supposed to discuss and debate are turning into platforms to settle political scores without bothering about the parliamentary norms and practices.

Create controversy, level allegations, rush to the well of the house stall proceedings, come out and accuse the ruling party if in opposition and vice versa has become the order of the day. It is high time all political parties should take a serious view of this and ensure that the decency and dignity of the Parliament and legislatures was maintained or shall I say restored.

Using derogatory language and then saying it was a slip of tongue is a ridiculous explanation. being honourable members, they are supposed to measure their words, not resort to loose tongue or slip of tongue. Its high time they developed the habit of dwelling on the debates of Parliament in which stalwarts of all parties starting from Pt Nehru to Vajpayee to P V Narasimha Rao had participated and spoken. Hardly anyone can match their oratory skills in Parliament today. They too used to get angry but never did their tongue slip. They used to give very strong replies, but never did they make derogatory remarks.

But now creating controversies and often putting foot in mouth has become a regular practice. We have seen the kind of language some honourable leaders of opposition use against the Prime Minister on the floor of the Parliament as well as outside.

And now in the latest episode one saw how the leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress had made derogatory remarks against the President of India and had the cheek to say, "Galti ho gayi. By default, I used that word. Hang me for it, I am ready." Now such attitude smacks of arrogance not humbleness which is expected from a honourable member. This is not the first time that he created such a controversy. He is known for making unsavoury comments in the past as well. This time he did not even spare the first citizen of the country and supreme commander of the armed forces, the President of India Droupadi Murmu. It was but natural for the Parliament to witness the kind of reaction that came from the ruling party members.

What really shocked one was the reaction of Sonia Gandhi. Being a senior parliamentarian and the president of Congress party and being present in the house she remained silent when her member used the word 'Rashtrapatni,' for the President of India.

It would have been a great gesture if she had stood up, offered apologies on behalf of Congress party and pulled up her member. That would have not only enhanced the respect people have towards her but the image of the Congress party would have gone up. But instead, she was upset that the BJP members particularly the Union Minister Smriti Irani took her name.

One can understand the anger of Sonia Gandhi and Congress party since she and Rahul Gandhi have been subjected to questioning by ED in the National Herald case. Whether it was right on the part of Government or was it a vindictive act is something that needs to be dealt politically, but refusing to pull up her member when a derogatory remark was made against the President of India was not a correct decision.

Honourable Sonia ji was angry just because her name was taken by Smriti Irani. What should the President feel when a member said, "Yes, we will go to the Rashtrapati. India's Rashtrapati, no no Rashtrapatni." Sonia should have thought about it.

It doesn't make any sense if you slap someone hard and say it was a mistake. What the Congress, Adhir and Sonia should understand is that making such a remark was a grave mistake and hence defending the undefendable is not correct.

If you look at the kind of remarks which the politicians have been making it really pains to see how insensitive one could be. When iron lady of modern India Indira Gandhi was assassinated and riots that followed led to killing of over 2000 people in Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi said, "Jab bhi koi bada ped girta hai, toh dharti thodi hilti hai (Whenever a big tree falls, the earth shakes)." While the assassination of Indira Gandhi cannot be justified, the killing of 2,000 people as a reaction also cannot be justified.

Coming to the recent comments, we have seen Adhir kicked up a storm by asking the government how Jammu and Kashmir could be internal matter if they were being monitored by the UN since 1948. He made this comment when BJP had moved the bill in Parliament to abrogate Article 370.

Sonia Gandhi appeared to be visibly uncomfortable and was seen gesturing towards Rahul Gandhi, questioning Chowdhury's statement. Whether he was taken to task by her for such a comment or not later is something the party has to answer.

Adhir Ranjan seems to have a penchant for making all kinds of remarks in Parliament. He once called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister as illegal migrants. This happened when a heated discussion and war of words was on in Parliament when the issue of National Registrar of Citizens was being discussed.

He said, "Hindustan is for everyone, for Hindus and Muslims. Your home is Gujarat, you came over to Delhi. You are yourselves migrants," he said without realising that the same analogy applies to him also. He is from West Bengal and he also came to Delhi.

Those who would like to defend him may say that Adhir is known for speaking out his heart and when it comes to criticism, he does not spare anyone and that he is known for criticising his own party men.

They may even quote the example when he remarked "Kapil Sibal kahan ke neta hain mujhe pata nahi. He enjoyed many positions because of the Congress. Things were good when he was a minister in the UPA government now when UPA is not in power he is feeling bad." Adhir made this remark when some Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and others who are now known as G-23 questioned the decisions of Sonia Gandhi.

But then how will Congress explain his remark "Ganga (Indira Gandhi and Gandi Naali (PM Modi) cannot be compared". Did the Congress leaders advise the honourable member to be more responsible? Certainly not. The fact that he continues to make such remarks and say it was slip of tongue would not have continued.

When the European Parliament members visited J&K to review the situation after abrogation of Article 370 he called them "Kiraye ke tattu." Were they not honourable members Adhir Saab?

If committed once or twice it is called mistake. But if it is repeated it cannot be called a mistake. Hence it is hard to believe that Adarniya Adhir Saab had committed yet another mistake. If Congress still supports him then one can only say, God save the party. This is not how a party which is over 100-years-old should behave.

Anyone occupying a constitutional office irrespective of their gender, caste and community deserve highest respect. The President of India is the first citizen of the country and is "equally honourable." One can only say and pray, "Sub ko Sanmati de Bhagwan." (Bestow Wisdom on All).