‘Thought of resigning…tolerated a lot’: Jagdeep Dhankhar vs Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament

The final day of the Budget Session of Parliament on Saturday witnessed a heavy exchange of words between Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge after Congress MPs questioned the Vice-President for giving the floor to RLD’s Jayant Singh to speak on the government decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on his grandfather and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

Jagdeep Dhankhar said he was deeply “hurt” by the behaviour of Mallikarjun Kharge and hinted that the entire episode pained him more than the death of his young son, while also hitting out at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh claiming that he is not fit to be a member of the Upper House because of this misconduct.

Trouble started when Jagdeep Dhankhar called Jayant Singh to speak soon after the House met for the day. The Congress MPs claimed that neither did the chairman indicate when he was giving the floor to Jayant Singh nor did the business papers of the House list any statement by anyone on the government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

During this time, Jairam Ramesh made certain remarks and asked Jayant Singh where he wanted to go, in an indirect reference to his Rashtriya Lok Dal’s align with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Lok Sabha elections.

This angered Jagdeep Dhankhar. He termed Jairam Ramesh unfit to be in the House. Later, after the discussion on the government’s ‘white paper’ on the economy, Jadeep Dhankhar again attacked Jairam Ramesh and condemned his behaviour.

“I heard what Jairam Ramesh said to Jayant…you (Ramesh) are a person who can feast at the cremation ground,” he said after the initial ruckus… It is a matter of fact that you (Ramesh) do not deserve to be part of this House for this misconduct,” the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

Amid protest by Congress MPs, Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. Mallikarjun Kharge said there was no debate on the Centre’s decision to honour leaders with India’s highest civilian award. “I salute everyone. But if a member wants to raise an issue, you (chairman) ask ‘under which rule’. (I want to know) under which rule he (Jayant Singh) has been allowed to speak… Give permission to us also. On one side you talk about rules…you have discretion…that discretion should be used judiciously and not as and when you want,” the leader of Opposition said.

To this, Jagdeep Dhankhar reacted and accused Congress leaders of insulting Chaudhary Charan Singh and his legacy.

Meanwhile, Leader of the House and Union minister Piyush Goyal demanded an apology from Mallikarjun Kharge for “disrespecting” the Chair.

Jagdeep Dhankhar then read out a notice he had received from Jayant Singh to speak for a couple of minutes and allowed the RLD MP to complete his submission.

“It was a painful day for me today. I seek your protection. It becomes hard sometimes to follow a dignified path… With pain, I bring to your notice one subject for pondering… I want to share and discuss one important matter with you,” he later said.

The chairman added that the behaviour was “unexpected”, “shameful” and “painful”.

“Chaudhary Charan Singh does not belong to one family but since his grandson is a member of the House, it is a matter of pride for us. The conduct that I saw and you saw too was unprecedented, offensive and painful. The conduct of some members was so petty that I was ashamed. Many thoughts crossed my mind; one was of resignation too,” Jagdeep Dhankhar said in the House.

“I am deeply pained. Don’t forget, in the process, the kind of language used against me by the Leader of Opposition. I come from the farmers’ community; that doesn’t mean that I am weak. I have tolerated a lot, ” he added.

The vice-president said being a son of a farmer, he has seen difficult times. “I lost my grownup son. But today’s pain (was more) when Jayant Chaudhary was speaking, what was Jairam Ramesh saying?”

Stating that he did not want to stretch the matter, he said political arguments aside, “we should be sensitive when it comes to respect of leaders.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. Along with them, MS Swaminathan, also known as the father of the green revolution, will also be awarded the country’s highest civilian award.

Saturday was the last day of the Budget Session, which was also the last session of the 17th Lok Sabha, before the general elections.