Shashi Tharoor quits Sansad TV on suspension of 12 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that he would not host his talk show “To The Point” on Sansad TV till the suspension of 12 MPs, including Priyanka Chaturvedi, is revoked
After Priyanka Chaturvedi, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he won’t host his talk show on Sansad TV until the suspension of the legislators is revoked and a “semblance of bipartisanship restored to the conduct of Parliament”.
He was a host of a talk show called ‘To The Point’ on Sansad TV. “I believed that my accepting Sansad TV’s invitation to host a show was in the best traditions of India’s Parliamentary democracy, reaffirming the principle that our political differences did not prevent us, as Members of Parliament, from participating fully in various Parliamentary institutions which belong to us all,” Tharoor said.
“However, the prolonged suspension of 12 MPs from the Rajya Sabha, expelled arbitrarily for actions committed during a previous session, has called into question the very assumption of a bipartisan spirit animating the work of Parliament,” Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Shiv Sena MP quits Sansad TV
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was suspended from the Upper House of the Parliament has quit as an anchor for Sansad TV.
Chaturvedi wrote a letter, announcing her decision to quit the show titled “Meri Kahani” to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.
“It is with deep anguish that I step down as an anchor of Sansad TV’s show Meri Kahaani. I am unwilling to occupy space on Sansad TV for a show but being denied space on it for discharging Parliamentary duties due to arbitrary suspension of us 12 MPs. Hence, as much as I was committed to the show, I must step away,” she said.
The productivity increased
More than 52% of Rajya Sabha‘s scheduled sitting time last week was hampered due to disruptions and protests, NDTV reported. But high productivity on Thursday and Friday promised hope of smooth and normal functioning of the Parliament.
House productivity last week was 47.7% of the scheduled time. The release said that the House sat 33 minutes more than the scheduled time on Thursday, increasing the overall productivity to 49.7% for the week. Thursday and Friday reported the highest productivity for the week, at 95% and 100%, respectively.
MPs need to show remorse
12 Opposition MPs, including Priyanka Chaturvedi, were suspended from the Rajya Sabha on the grounds of ‘unruly behaviour.’ The Opposition and suspended MPs are now protesting near the Mahatma Gandhi statue.
The MPs were suspended for creating ruckus on the last day of the monsoon session. However, the Opposition members of the House have called the suspension “undemocratic and selective”.
House Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has upheld his decision to keep the MPs suspended as they haven’t shown any remorse. He also added that it is for the “House to take a view on its decision, and it is for all concerned to take it forward”.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has also reiterated Naidu’s stand on the issue. He said that the government would consider revoking suspension if the Opposition MPs apologised.
