Review guidelines in light of technological advances: Dhankhar to Ethics Committee
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday directed the Ethics Committee of the House to review the 1998 S B Chavan Committee report on ethics and develop updated guidelines for members, considering the technological developments and the rise of social media in recent years.
Dhankhar’s directive came after rejecting a breach of privilege notice filed by Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “casting aspersions” on Congress Parliamentary Party head Sonia Gandhi.
In his notice submitted on Wednesday, Ramesh claimed that Shah, during his Rajya Sabha speech on March 25, had made unfounded allegations about Sonia Gandhi with a premeditated intent to malign her reputation.
Ramesh quoted Shah, who reportedly stated, “The Prime Minister's National Relief Fund was established during the Congress' rule, and the PM-CARES Fund was established during PM Narendra Modi’s and the NDA’s rule. During Congress' rule, only one family used to control the country.”
Ramesh described Shah’s statement as “blatantly false and defamatory,” arguing that it amounted to a breach of privilege and contempt of the House.
Dhankhar said Shah had authenticated his statement citing a press statement issued by the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India on January 24, 1948, wherein the then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had announced starting of the PMNRF which was to be managed by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, president of the Indian National Congress and certain other people.
Following protests from Ramesh, who dismissed the response as “too clever by half,” Dhankhar remarked that the practice (of having the Congress president on the committee administering the PM Relief Fund) “continued for decades,” but he chose not to delve into the details.
Dhankhar also pointed out that the breach of privilege notice had been widely covered in the media, indicating it had been shared with the press in violation of rules. He further noted that Ramesh had signed the notice with the wrong date.
Addressing the need for updated ethics guidelines, Dhankhar acknowledged the 1998 S B Chavan Committee report, which emphasised the importance of members maintaining the dignity of the House.
He quoted from the report: “Firstly, members must conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the dignity of Parliament and preserves their personal credibility. Secondly, members bear the responsibility of maintaining exemplary standards of morality, dignity, decorum, and values in their public conduct.”
“Now Ethics Committee is headed by a distinguished parliamentarian Ghanshyam Tiwari. I am tasking the Ethics Committee to look into S B Chavan Committee report on ethics and take note of the intervening situations mostly brought about by technological developments and social media and evolve a mechanism (and) fresh guidelines for members for adherence,” Dhankhar said.
The Chairman said he would not allow the Rajya Sabha to become a platform for diminishing anyone's dignity.
