class="xmsonormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in;mso-line-height-alt:10.55pt">Govt condemns walkout by Cong MPs, Amarinder defends Rahul

Cong leader writes Speaker

Rahul, in his letter to the Speaker, said, “Every member has the right to point out digressions from the agenda and the purpose of the standing committee. The committee can disagree but the fact that the chairman does not permit a member to speak is a sad comment on how the government handles military affairs. As the Speaker and custodian of Parliament, I urge you to intervene and ensure discussions held in the defence committee are in consonance with the role and objective of the institution and that the right of elected MPs to speak freely is protected.”

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Dec 17

A war of words broke out today on Congress MPs’ walk out from a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on defence yesterday, with the government condemning the move and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh backing the parliamentarians.

Also, Rahul Gandhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to intervene to ensure that committee members are allowed to “speak freely”.

Information Minister Prakash Javadekar earlier today hit out at Rahul saying committees are not sites of protest.

“Rahul Gandhi has attended only two of the 14 meetings of the parliamentary standing committee on defence in the last year and a half. He is himself absent and then blames the government and procedures and walks out of the meeting in protest. Standing committee isn’t a protest site. Being absent, not flagging their desired agenda of discussion and then making insinuations of non-discussion of important issues is an insult to all parliamentary procedures and constitutional institutions. We condemn this attitude,” said Javadekar.

Rahul and others had left a meeting where a presentation was made on the rank structure, uniforms, badges and honours of the Armed Forces – an agenda finalised in the last committee meeting to help panel members appreciate rank structures and equivalence.

Amarinder Singh defended Rahul saying “I feel ashamed that committees have reached this level. I am shocked that the committee was discussing the type of polish to be used for buttons on the Armed Forces uniform instead of finding ways to counter the joint China-Pakistan threat. Rahul Gandhi rightly walked out of this mockery.”

Singh said he had been a member of defence panels headed by late PM Indira Gandhi and Maj Gen BC Khanduri. “We were always allowed to speak freely. Rahul Gandhi tried asking about the Indian policy on China and Pakistan, equipment for soldiers and they were busy talking ranks and uniforms. One MP said uniforms of all three Services should be the same. Do they know every regiment has its insignia. Should we forget our history?” asked Singh, adding that the panel chairman would not even have served in the NCC ever.

Committee sources however said panel chief Jual Oram had urged Gandhi to look at the presentation (listed agenda for the meeting) which the latter called a “waste of time”.