JULY 2019 l PARLIAMENTARIAN 29Th aroor. “Jai Shri Ram slogans, Jai
Bharat, Vande Mataram, are old
issues,” Birla said, “During a debate, it
is diff erent. Every time there are
diff erent circumstances. What are the
circumstances is decided by the person
sitting in the speaker’s chair.”
Th en he tried to balance it out by
saying, “I don’t think Parliament is the
place for sloganeering, for showing
placards, or for coming to the well.
Th ere is a road for that where they can
go and demonstrate. Whatever people
want to say here, whatever allegations
they have, however they want to attack
the government they can, but they
can’t come to the gallery and do all
t his.”
Asked if he could give assurance
that heckling will not be repeated, the
Speaker said, “I don’t know if it will
happen again but we will try to run
Parliament by the rules,’’ he said.
rss school master
Given his background he was closely
associated with ABVP and the RSS -
and his attitude - to run the Parliament
like a headmaster - it is more than
clear that the 17th Lok Sabha would be
as chaotic if not more, as the last one
which had Sumitra Mahajan presiding
over as Speaker.
Birla dropped more than enough
hints by saying, “I will talk to all
parties and discuss with them that
what action can be taken against those
who repeatedly show placards in the
house and come to the well. Such
actions of the members show Lok
Sabha in poor light.”
Underlining that every member of
the house should be heard, Birla said,
every party will be given opportunity,
irrespective of their strength even if it
has one member. He or she should be
heard and the government should
respond whenever required.” As a
custodian of the house, Birla said he is
fully aware of his responsibilities but
added, Members should also
understand they have been elected by
lakhs of people. Th ey should raise
issues which matter to the last person
standing in the row.
Th e fact that Birla had to assure the
Lok Sabha members that he will
remain fair and unbiased, in itself is a
certain give away that he feels they
won’t trust him implicitly.
On the fi rst day of the new Lok
Sabha, several members took oath
amid an intense slogan-shouting
contest between treasury and
opposition benches. While ‘Jai Sri
Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ were
heard intermittently during the day,
the ‘mandir wahin banayenge’ was
raised aft er Unnao BJP leader Sakshi
Maharaj’s swearing-in. Hyderabad MP
Asaduddin Owaisi, too, walked down
the staircase of the House to take oath
amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and
Vande Mataram’. He could be seen
raising his hands and gesturing the
lawmakers to continue the slogans. As
soon as he ended the oath with chants
like Allahu Akbar, a few MPs yelled
‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. Th e Protem
Speaker Virendra Kumar, presiding
over the House then, could merely say- please maintain decorum of the
house. It was only aft er assuming the
charge of Speaker that Birla reacted to
the development.
Th at he is full of disdain towards
the opposition is to state the obvious.
It was refl ected in the way he chided
Adhir Chowdhury but also in the
manner he overruled opposition
members demanded to ask
supplementary questions during
Question Hour. “I am determined to
have maximum questions. Today, I
could take only seven. I intend to take
up 18-20 questions during Question
Hour every day”, he said. Th is means
just three minutes for each Question.
Th at wouldn’t leave scope for any
supplementaries.reverse silence
In a way this is an attempt to lower the
government’s accountability.
Parliament is a forum where the
opposition can bring the government
on the mat. And Question Hour is the
only time when an MP, whether from
treasury benches or the opposition,
can ask the government questions
related to corruption, ineffi ciency,
retarded development not only of their
constituency but of the country as
well.
It is the Speaker’s duty to ensure
that government doesn’t evade any
question, Ministers come prepared in
the House and an MP’s query is
addressed properly. Th ere are instances
when Speaker has pulled up even
senior ministers for taking Question
Hour frivolously.
But of late, Speakers like Sumitra
Mahajan have been defending the
Ministers. Birla is likely to take her
legacy to a whole new level.glorious past
Contrast this to fi rst Speaker of Uttar
Pradesh Assembly, Purushottam DasThe facT ThaT Birla had To assure The lok
saBha memBers ThaT he will remain fair and
unBiased, in iTself is a cerTain give away ThaT
he feels They won’T TrusT him impliciTly