Mobile Phones should not be allowed for Members during Parliamentary Proceedings

Bureau,Odishabarta

Mobile phones should not be allowed for members during Parliamentary proceedings – other immunities to Parliamentarians and state legislators also need to be abolished.

Delhi:It refers to Rajya Sabha Chairperson on 03.02.2021 expressing anguish on misuse of mobile phones by some members of the House by recording disturbances during Parliamentary proceedings and later sharing on social media. It is usual practice that mobile phones are not allowed to be taken inside the venues of important conferences. Otherwise also there have been indecent incidents of certain legislators in state-assemblies seen enjoying blue films inside the Houses. Time has come to cut immunity available to legislators both in Parliament and state-legislatures. Mobile phones must not be allowed to be taken inside any of the House of Parliament or state-legislatures. This will also make those in legislatures concentrating on discussions and debates of legislative Houses.

Immunity must also be abolished for things done or said during legislative proceedings considering blood-bath quarrels inside some state assemblies, some Parliamentarian insulting national song by walking out from the House during its play, and others tearing copy of bills and many other such unparliamentarily acts to make Parliamentarians and state-legislators disciplined to be role models for citizens. Neither the then President of India nor the then Chairperson of Rajya Sabha took any action despite writing to them against highly objectionable statement of a Rajya Sabha member on 03.08.2015 on floor of the House when the member termed disclosure of heavy subsidy on food in Parliamentary canteens through an RTI petition as a well-planned conspiracy to tarnish image of Parliamentarians. It is highly unjustified that Parliamentarian may misuse immunity by terming a law-abiding citizen as a conspirator to expose an undesired burden on the public-exchequer which has now been corrected by present Lok Sabha Speaker.

Input;Subash Agarwal,MINPA/E/2021/00225 PMOPG/E/2021/0073229 PRSEC/E/2021/02682 dated 03.02.2021