Lok Sabha Speaker has sent the complaint of MPs in the Ramesh Bidhuri case to the Privileges Committee.
MPs complained in the Lok Sabha regarding the case of BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri and BSP MP Danish Ali. The Lok Sabha Speaker has sent the complaint of the MPs to the Privileges Committee. After Bidhuri’s controversial remarks, BJP first issued him a show cause notice. After this, the opposition MPs demanded action against him and asked to send the matter to the Privileges Committee.
Know what is the Privilege Committee, how it works and which cases reach this committee.
What is Privilege Committee?
Be it Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, the Privilege Committee in Parliament is constituted by the Speaker or Chairman. The parties are given the opportunity to be represented on the committee based on their numbers. For example, the Privileges Committee formed in the Lok Sabha consists of 15 members. At the same time, the Privilege Committee of Rajya Sabha consists of 10 members. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the head of this committee and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the head of the committee. Majority in both Houses The work of nominating committee members is done based on the number of parties.
Whenever a case of contempt or violation of privileges of an MP comes to light in either of the two houses, its investigation is handed over to the Privileges Committee.
How does the committee work?
The committee understands the entire matter. Decides whether the accused member should be punished or not. In this way, on the basis of the report of the committee, it is decided whether the member who violates the privilege will be punished or not.
The Privileges Committee sometimes has powers. For example, this committee can recommend punishing the guilty member, canceling his membership, expelling him and sending him to jail.
In what kind of cases is action taken?
If the privilege of any member of Parliament or a public gathering is violated or they are hurt in any way, then it is called a breach of privilege. Disobeying the orders of the House, writing defamatory articles against its committees, members and officials is also called violation of privileges. Apart from this, disrupting the proceedings of the House is also a violation of privileges.
When have cases of breach of privilege come to light?
Like the Parliament, there is a Privilege Committee in the State Assemblies of the country too. Ramesh Bidhuri’s case is not the first case of breach of privilege in Parliament. Earlier, this issue had also come to light in 1967, 1983, and 2008. In 1967, there were cases of two people throwing pamphlets in the audience gallery, in 1983, there were cases of throwing slippers and shouting slogans. In both the cases the accused were given simple imprisonment. Apart from this, a case related to the editor of an Urdu weekly came to light in 2008. When the editor called the Rajya Sabha Chairman a coward.
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