RS Chairman suppressing Opposition's freedom of speech, says Kharge

There has been no let-up in the Opposition’s attack against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar who found himself at the receiving end of a fresh salvo fired by the Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge who accused the Chairman of “sycophancy”.

In the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar briefly turned emotional and told Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh, “You people forget relationships very soon, you do not remember relationships. You must appreciate the importance of relationships. Relationship should not be allowed to get vitiated, it should be taken care of and nurtured. If you want to hurt someone, aim for the person’s head, not heart,” Dhankhar said.

Though Dhankhar did not make any mention about the no-trust notice given against him by the Opposition, it was obvious that he was referring to the Opposition charge against him of being partisan and seeking his removal from the post of Vice-President..

The lamentations, however, did not cut ice with the Opposition as it targeted Dhankhar today for the third consecutive day in a row.

“The Chairman displays unwarranted sycophancy of the government within the House and also outside it. On various occasions, he has equated the Prime Minister with Mahatma Gandhi, has held it wrong to seek the accountability of the Prime Minister by the Opposition. He has commented even on walkouts by the Opposition, even though it is a well-honoured Parliamentary tool,” Kharge said.

Dhankhar’s relationship with the Opposition hit a new low on Tuesday when the Opposition MPs, for the first time in the history of the country, gave a notice expressing no confidence against the Chairman for being partisan.

The following day, the Opposition INDIA bloc held a joint press conference here and accused Dhankhar of disrupting the House more than anyone else.

On Thursday Kharge, who is also president of Congress party, fired a fresh salvo at Dhankhar and outlined the reasons that prompted the Opposition parties to give a no trust notice against the Chairman.

Kharge also alleged that the Chairman has consistently suppressed the freedom of expression of Opposition members through persistent heckling, unwarranted insistence on authentication, unfair remarks, and the refusal to list issues of public importance for discussion.

Dhankhar has misused the sanctity of the chair to praise his political ideologue — RSS and said I am the Eklavya of RSS, which is inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution, Kharge alleged.

Kharge claimed that the coverage by Sansad Television was “biased”. “When Opposition leaders speak, the camera disproportionately focuses on the Chair. Moreover, directions regarding telecast protocols were arbitrarily altered without consulting the General Purposes Committee, which includes representation from all parties,” Kharge said.