Faces suspension/expulsion; Speaker says apology won’t do
New Delhi : Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday without transacting any business. All hell broke loose as members, cutting across party lines, condemned a video of Parliament live-streamed on Facebook by Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann and demanded stringent action against him for imperiling Parliament security.
Some wanted Mann to be suspended; others wanted him expelled while still others wanted the matter referred to the privilege committee. The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party and its allies Akali Dal and Shiv Sena wanted his immediate expulsion as they pointed out that the video had jeopardized the parliament security.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur, daughter-in-law of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, spearheaded the demand for Mann’s expulsion as the Akali Party faces a potent threat from the AAP in the Assembly elections early next month.
Even as members demanding immediate action, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the matter was under consideration and she needs time to decide what action would be the best in the circumstances.
The Speaker summoned Mann after adjourning the House and reprimanded him. Mann submitted an unconditional apology in writing, saying he did so “unknowingly” as he did not realize his act of trying to give a glimpse of Parliament to his voters will trigger such a big furore. He insisted he never wanted to jeopardize the security of Parliament as was being made out by the MPs.
The Speaker later told reporters that Mann wanted to apologise but the issue is such that “it cannot be resolved by a mere apology since all Parliament members are agitated and because it ii is a matter of security of Parliament.” Much to the chagrin of Mann, his AAP colleague Harinder Singh Khalsa from Fatehgarh Sahib wanted his seat changed in the House as he does not want to sit next to Mann who comes to the House inebriated. The Speaker has decided to also look into this complaint as well. The Congress members in the Rajya Sabha, led by the party’s deputy leader Anand Sharma, wanted to know why the government did not act promptly to get the objectionable video removed from the social media, nor did it take prompt action of registering a case against Mann.
Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi sought action against Mann under the National Security Act as he saw in his act “a conspiracy to compromise the security of Parliament by revealing all the details to the anti-national elements.”
