Rendering The House Dysfunctional Unfortunate, Against Public Interest: Rajya Sabha Chairman Writes To LoP Kharge

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has reportedly written a letter to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

In the letter, Dhankhar has said that rendering the House dysfunctional by making a demand to the Chair that cannot be acceded is unfortunate and against public interest

Dhankhar also expressed his concern that the Kharge's decision not to meet him during the Winter session of the Parliament was inconsistent with parliamentary norms and has also sought an interaction with him.

This comes a day after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated protests by opposition MPs who were demanding a discussion on the 13 December Parliament security breach and a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue.

The protests led to the suspension of 46 MPs from the House for the session.

A breach of privilege notice was moved against Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien and the matter was referred to the Privileges Committee.

In the letter, Dhankhar reportedly expressed "pain" that his efforts to hold a meeting with Kharge to ensure smooth functioning of the House could not find the Congress leader's favour.

Dhankhar emphasised that, according to the parliamentary mechanism, engaging with the presiding officer is of high priority.

He also said that he looks forward to an interaction with the leader of opposition for a healthy way forward.

The three weeks of the Parliament's Winter session saw a security breach in the Lok Sabha, suspension of 146 MPs and the expulsion of Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra in the "cash-for-query" case.

The session that commenced on 4 December witnessed both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha operating mostly without disruptions during the initial week. However, the situation took a turn after 13 December.

During Zero Hour on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, two people jumped into the Lok Sabha from the visitors' gallery, and released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans prior to being subdued by several MPs.