New Delhi, July 23
Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday urged the parliamentarians and the floor leaders of the House to introspect the notices moved on "daily basis" by them under Rule 267, terming the habit an "indiscriminate resort of the provision".
As the House convened, the Chairman announced the chair informing that he received five notices under Rule 267 but these have been rejected.
Dhankhar said, "Such a liberal use of Rule 267 is not doing any good to us, and honorable members may also recall that Rule 267 last time was accepted in 2016".
"In the past 36 years Rule 267 provision has been allowed rarely only on six occasions and I get it in every sitting of the session. I urge the members and the floor leaders to seriously reflect and introspect this indiscriminate resort to the provisions of the Rule 267 daily," Dhankhar said rejecting the five notices given by the Trinamool Congress leaders on different issues.
Rule 267, included in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States, and invoked by the Opposition to raise "urgent matters" says: "Any member, may, with the consent of the Chairman, move that any rule may be suspended in its application to a motion related to the business listed before the Council of that day and if the motion is carried, the rule in question shall be suspended for the time being: Provided further that this rule shall not apply where specific provision already exists for suspension of a rule under a particular chapter of the Rules."
Over the last couple of years, the rule has emerged as a constant point of friction between the Opposition and the Rajya Sabha presiding officers under the Narendra Modi government.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman had rejected the similar notices given by the opposition leader on Monday too, the day one of the 265th session of the Upper House, saying they were "neither in conformity to requirements of Rule 267 nor to directions given".
There is also criticism that the Opposition has been trying to use Rule 267 as equivalent to the adjournment motion in Lok Sabha. Through an adjournment motion, the scheduled business can be set aside by allowing an MP to urge the Speaker to adjourn the House's business "to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance".
The Speaker has to decide whether to allow the MP to move the motion. It results in the House dropping its scheduled list of businesses to discuss this urgent matter.
When Rule 267 was framed, it stated, "Any member may, with the consent of the Chairman, move that any rule may be suspended in its application to a particular motion before the Council and if the motion is carried the rule in question shall be suspended for the time being."