Need for restraint, decorum in Houses

Need for restraint, decorum in Houses

That the members snatched papers from the Speaker’s table and disrupted the proceedings was most unfortunate and needed to be deterred.

EditorialUpdated: Saturday, March 07, 2020, 10:50 AM IST
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Om Birla’s decision |

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to suspend seven Congress members for the remainder of the budget session for ‘gross misconduct’ in the House reflects a new low in parliamentary relations between the ruling dispensation and much of the Opposition.

That the members snatched papers from the Speaker’s table and disrupted the proceedings was most unfortunate and needed to be deterred. It was unreasonable for the Congress members to demand that a discussion on Delhi riots precede any other business.

The Speaker had not refused a discussion and there was no reason to show disrespect to the Speaker in defiance of time-honoured conventions. Admittedly, this was not the first such instance. Such show of misbehaviour has been seen earlier too, but every Speaker has his or her own tolerance level and the current Speaker cannot be faulted for the seemingly stiff punishment.

It is indeed unfortunate that relations between the Treasury benches and the Opposition in general have deteriorated to such an extent that issues that should ordinarily be sorted out amicably are a cause of so much mutual animosity and bickering.

Both sides need to do some soul-searching to restore a modicum of discipline and good feeling. The country is passing through hard times with the economy in a perceptible slowdown and coronavirus fast assuming the shape of a pandemic. At this point of time there should be greater spirit of accommodation.

The suspended Congress members and their leaders in Parliament must express their regret to the Speaker and seek to defuse the situation. It is difficult to dispute the fact that what the Congressmen indulged in was wrong. If there is expression of regret, the Speaker can be persuaded to reduce the punishment.

The Treasury benches also need to be more tolerant of criticism from the opposition benches. At a time when the country is facing such grim challenges, it is imperative that Parliament rises above petty considerations and shows a spirit of oneness in getting the country out of difficulties that tend to mar the spirit of unity.

That the Delhi riots occurred at a time when US President Trump was on an official visit to India could well be the sinister design of some forces. Such forces must be rebuffed and defeated by the institution of Parliament and by right-thinking people across the country.

That cannot mean that the opposition must not put the government on the mat for lapses of intelligence and of failure to control the riots before they escalated.

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