Manipur Horror: What is Rule 267 that Opposition is demanding in Rajya Sabha?

-

Thursday (20 July) was the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament and it began on a very stormy note with several of the Opposition members submitting notices under Rule 267 demanding suspension of business in the Upper House on account of the horrific video of women belonging to the Kuki tribe being paraded naked in Manipur.

Proceedings of the August House were suspended at 2 pm when Opposition members began sloganeering and demanding that the Manipur situation be discussed at length. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, also the president of the Congress party, told Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar: “I have made my full efforts to attract your attention and gave notice but unfortunately, I am not allowed to raise this (rule) 267. You know Manipur is burning, women are raped and paraded naked… and prime minister is keeping quiet. He is giving statement outside.”

The government, on the other hand, said that they were willing to discuss the Manipur situation through a short-duration discussion; a demand that the Opposition refused, causing chaos and the eventual adjournment of the House.

As we gear up for a second stormy day, here’s a better understanding of Rule 267 vs Rule 176 and how proceedings came to a grinding halt in the Upper House of Parliament.

Tumultuous Thursday in Rajya Sabha

As the Monsoon session of Parliament got underway on Thursday, at least 12 MPs from several opposition parties submitted notices under Rule 267, demanding suspension of business and a detailed discussion on the two-month-long violence in Manipur.

According to an ANI news report, Congress’ MPs Mallikarjun Kharge, Pramod Tiwari, Ranjeet Ranjan, Syed Naseer Hussain, Imran Pratapgarhi along with Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT), Derek O’Brien of Trinamool Congress (TMC), Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Tiruchi Siva of Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK), Manoj Jha of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Elamaram Kareem of CPM and Binoy Viswam of CPI all submitted suspension of Business Notice under rule 267 in Rajya Sabha to discuss the “prime minister’s shocking silence on the ongoing violence in Manipur.”

However, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar told the house that discussion on Manipur will only be taken up after consultation from the leader of the house. He later said that government was “keen and agreeable” for discussion under Rule 176 for “Short Duration Discussion”.

But, the Opposition was unwilling to relent, with Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge then saying, “We have also given notices under 267… you have to suspend all other business and take up this…not half an hour.”

Also read: Manipur Horror: Did the police fail to act on time in the tragedy?

He added: “Manipur is burning. Women are raped, naked, paraded and horrific violence is taking place. But the prime minister has kept quiet for so long. Today, after so much outrage, he gave a statement outside the Parliament. We want a detailed discussion on Manipur and PM Modi should make an elaborate statement on the same in the House. We also demand immediate resignation of Manipur chief minister and an imposition of President’s Rule.”

TMC’s Derek O’Brien also said the discussion on Manipur situation should be taken up under Rule 267 and that the prime minister must break his silence on Manipur in the House. Raising a point of order, O’Brien said Rule 267 should be enforced and their notices be taken up first. The prime minister has to speak on Manipur, he asserted.

However, post lunch Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked for the listed papers to be laid, prompting Opposition members to begin sloganeering; chants of ‘Manipur, Manipur’ reverberated in the Upper House, leading to the eventual adjournment of proceedings.

Opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Tiruchi Siva, Manoj Kumar Jha, Derek O'Brien and others interact with the media at the Parliament complex on the first day of the Monsoon session. These were among the 12 MPs who submittied notices under Rule 267. PTI

Rule 267, explained

But what exactly is Rule 267 and why are Opposition members demanding that the chairman allow it?

As per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), under Rule 267, “Any member, may, with the consent of the Chairman, move that any rule may be suspended in its application to a motion related to the business listed before the Council of that day and if the motion is carried, the rule in question shall be suspended for the time being.”

Simply put, under Rule 267, Rajya Sabha MPs can submit a written notice to suspend all listed business in the House and discuss an issue of importance that the country is facing.

An Indian Express report states that the Opposition has been complaining that none of its notices under Rule 267 are being taken up. For instance, Chairman Dhankhar rejected eight such notices during the previous Winter Session of Parliament when they wanted a discussion on China’s increasing presence at the Line of Actual Control and the price rise.

TMC’s Derek O’Brien had previously stated that post demonetisation in 2016, no notice under Rule 267 has been allowed – a deviation from the past where such notices had been accepted.

Echoing similar sentiments, Congress’ P Chidambaram had last year written in the Indian Express, “In the last several months, the rule has been invoked in both Houses numerous times… The Chair has rejected every motion. Conclusion: as far as India’s Parliament is concerned, there is no matter of “urgent public importance” that requires to be discussed setting aside the business of the day.”

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in the House on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi. PTI

Rule 176, explained

It’s important to note that the Centre said on Monday that it was willing to discuss the Manipur issue in Rajya Sabha and Leader of the House Piyush Goyal also said the government has no objections.

“Short duration discussion on Manipur issues has come to be demanded under Rule 176 by various members. Members are keen to engage in discussion on Manipur issues. These discussions have three stages, one, every member of the House is entitled to give a notice for short duration discussion. I have considered those notices but under the mandate of the rule, I have to consult the date and time from the Leader of the House,” Dhankhar then said.

So, what is Rule 176? Rule 176 allows for a short-duration discussion, not exceeding two-and-a-half hours, on a particular issue. It states that “any member desirous of raising discussion on a matter of urgent public importance may give notice in writing to the Secretary-General specifying clearly and precisely the matter to be raised: Provided that the notice shall be accompanied by an explanatory note stating reasons for raising discussion on the matter in question: Provided further that the notice shall be supported by the signatures of at least two other members.”

As per Rule 176, the matter can be taken up immediately, within a few hours or even the next day. The rule, however, is clear that no formal motion or voting shall be held under a short-duration discussion.
As the Centre and Opposition gear up for another day in Parliament, it is left to be seen if business is carried out in the Rajya Sabha on Friday or will it be another wash out?

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/LrM3IPc
FP Explainers

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more