Opposition fumes as Speaker Om Birla justifies RS circular barring dharnas in Parliament lawns

New Delhi, July 15

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today suggested that Opposition parties should refrain from making allegations without ascertaining the facts about the recent parliamentary bulletins on holding of dharnas and protests in the Parliament House precincts.

Asserting that an unnecessary political controversy had been made out on the issue, Birla said that such circulars were being issued for many years. Political parties reacted sharply to the circular issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, which said, “Members cannot use the precincts of Parliament House for any demonstration, dharna, strike, fast or for the purpose of performing any religious ceremony.”

“It (such circulars to members) is a process. This process has been going on since 2009,” Birla said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in the Parliament House complex.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat also claimed that such a circular is issued normally ahead of every session of Parliament. The secretariat also provided copies of the similar circular issued during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2013 and said such circulars are being issued for many years now.

The new bulletin, which has been issued earlier in the day by Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 18, said the kind cooperation of members is solicited. “Members cannot use the precincts of the Parliament House for any demonstration, dharna, strike, fast or for the purpose of performing any religious ceremony,” the bulletin read.

Congress general secretary and chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to attack the government. “Vishguru’s latest salvo – D(h)arna Mana Hai!,” he said, while sharing a copy of the circular issued on July 14.

TMC’s Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra too tweeted: “Btw Honourable MP Varanasi performed religious ceremony on top of new Parliament building just four days ago.” She went on to add: “Why not just remove Gandhiji’s statue from the premises? And erase Article 19(1)A of the Constitution.”

“What a farce. The attempts to muzzle the soul of India, its democracy and its very voice will fall flat,” CPM leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted.

Another Opposition leader, Manoj Jha of the RJD, sought immediate intervention of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The circular on dharnas comes amid Opposition outrage over another bulletin listing out certain words as “un-parliamentary” which was issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Wednesday.

The new booklet by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that the use of terms like ‘jumlajeevi’, ‘baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘Snoopgate’ and even commonly used words like ashamed, abused, betrayed, corrupt, drama, hypocrisy and incompetent will henceforth be considered un-parliamentary in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.