Congress lawmaker K C Venugopal on Friday moved a breach of privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his allegedly “derogatory, insulting, distasteful and defamatory remarks” against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during his reply to the motion of thanks on the president’s address in Rajya Sabha on February 9.
Modi attacked the Nehru-Gandhi family in the 85-minute reply. He cited newspaper reports and said 600 government schemes and projects were named after members of the family. Modi said If they miss out on mentioning the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru anywhere, the Congress gets upset. “Nehru was such a great person, then why do none of them use the Nehru surname? Why do they fear using the Nehru surname?”
Venugopal said Modi’s remarks amounted to a breach of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s privileges as members of Parliament and also contempt of the House. He said Modi cast aspersions on them.
The notice was moved amid a storm over Rahul Gandhi’s comments at an interaction last week at Cambridge University that Indian democracy was under attack. At least four Union ministers have sought Rahul Gandhi’s apology for his comments. The ongoing Budget session of Parliament has been disrupted repeatedly over protests against them.
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged the protests against him were aimed to prevent him from highlighting American securities research firm Hindenburg Research’s report on fraud and stock manipulation by the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group.
In his notice for breach of privilege, Venugopal said Modi made the remarks against the Nehru-Gandhi family last month in “a mocking manner”. He added they were “not only disgraceful but also insulting and defamatory” to the members of the Nehru family particularly Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are members of Lok Sabha.
“…the very suggestion by the Prime Minister [Modi] why did they not take Nehru as a surname is preposterous by its very nature. [The] Prime Minister knows… well that surname of father [Nehru] is not taken by daughter [Indira Gandhi]. Despite knowing that, he deliberately mocked,” he said.
He said the tone and tenor of Modi’s remarks were insinuating and derogatory. “It is well established that ‘it is a breach of privilege and contempt of the House to make speeches … reflecting on character or proceedings of the House or its Committees or any Member of the House or for relating to his character or conduct as Member of Parliament’…,” he said.
According to Parliamentary rules, if individuals or authorities violate or disregard any of the privileges, powers, and immunities of the House or members or committees thereof, they are liable for punishment for breach of privilege or contempt of the House.
The House has the power to determine what constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt. The penal jurisdiction of the House in this regard covers its members as well as strangers and every act of violation of privileges, whether committed in the immediate presence of the House or outside of it.
A person found guilty of breach of privilege or contempt of the House “may be punished either by imprisonment, or by admonition (warning), or reprimand”, according to chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook.
Suspension and expulsion from the House are other punishments that may also be awarded to the members for contempt.
