Harivansh Singh, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, wrote to the President of India on Tuesday, saying he is “in deep anguish, stress ...
Harivansh Singh, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, wrote to the President of India on Tuesday, saying he is “in deep anguish, stress and mental pain for the last two days”. Singh claimed that “the scene, which occurred in front of me in Rajya Sabha on September 20, has caused an unthinkable damage to the dignity of the Chair and the House”. He added that he had a sense of anguish, and so was going on a 24-hour fast to “awaken the sense of introspection”. Not in himself, but in “the honourable members who behaved in such a way”.
The actions of the Opposition members Singh is referring to may indeed have been cause for some annoyance. But the real anguish, the actual “unthinkable damage to the dignity of the Chair and the House” was caused by the deputy chairman himself, when he announced the passage of two extremely significant agriculture Bills without actually checking to see whether a majority of MPs would vote in favour.
Singh resorted to a voice vote – in which MPs yell out whether they are for or against the Bill – without allowing for a division of votes, which would require the actual numbers to be tallied, even though that...
