Oppn set to protest proposed changes in Rajya Sabha's rules of procedure

The opposition in the Rajya Sabha is set to protest a slew of changes proposed to the existing ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business’ of the Upper House.

The opposition believes the proposed changes will muzzle its voice and rob the Rajya Sabha, which is the voice of the states, of its uniqueness.

Some of the changes proposed include the power to remove the deputy chairman mid-term, stricter punishments for MPs disrupting the House, including disallowing them from voting on motions and bills, and reducing time allotted for discussions under rule 267, which provides for discussing matters of urgent public importance by suspending the business listed before the House for that particular day.

Several other proposed changes are borrowed from the rules that govern the proceedings in the Lok Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha’s General Purposes Committee (GPC) has to approve these changes. In May 2018, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu constituted a two member ‘rules review committee’ of retired bureaucrats to guide the process.

The two-member committee, comprising former Rajya Sabha secretary general VK Agnihotri and former additional secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice Dinesh Bhardwaj have submitted their report after holding 51 meetings.

On Wednesday, the GPC held a meeting that Naidu chaired and leaders of 23 political parties in the Rajya Sabha attended. The meeting was briefed about the proposed 77 amendments to the existing rules besides 124 new rules for consideration. The Rajya Sabha currently has 303 rules for various aspects of functioning of the House.  

Naidu had earlier directed the GPC to undertake “a comprehensive review of the existing rules”, particularly those “which seem inadequate with the passage of time”.

While the stated objective is to “facilitate smooth functioning of the House and increase opportunities for participation of MPs in the proceedings”, opposition MPs said some of the proposed changes could change the complexion of the Rajya Sabha, which was conceived not only as the 'council of states' but also a bulwark to the Lok Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha was established in 1952. The current set of rules were framed in 1964, and the GPC has submitted 13 reports over the years, based on which rules have been amended from time to time. The current effort to review these rules is the most comprehensive since 1964.

The next meeting of the GPC will be held after the second part of the Budget session of Parliament, which ends on April 3, for a detailed consideration of the proposed changes.

The rule related to removal of the deputy chairman mid-term has intrigued opposition MPs. Currently, Janata Dal (United) MP Harivansh is the deputy chairman. Bihar Assembly polls are slated for later this year, and there is speculation of new alignments in that state’s politics.

Apart from Naidu, Wednesday’s meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Leader of the House Thaawarchand Gehlot, Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, BJP’s C.P.Thakur, A. Navaneethakrishnan of the AIADMK, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav and Biju Janata Dal’s Prasanna Acharya.