Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee Finds 12 MPs Guilty of Disrupting Proceedings

New Delhi: The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha has found 12 opposition MPs, including AAP’s Sanjay Singh, guilty of misconduct for disrupting House proceedings in August 2023. The committee’s report, tabled on June 27 recommended cautioning the MPs to avoid such behaviour in the future.

Sanjay Singh’s suspension, which began on July 24, 2023, has been revoked following the acceptance of his unconditional apology. The committee deemed the suspension period sufficient punishment. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced the revocation, effective June 26, 2024, allowing Singh to resume his parliamentary duties.

The committee’s recommendations include cautioning nine MPs, namely Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Syed Nasir Hussain, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham, Ranjeet Ranjan and Imran Pratapgarhi to adhere to exemplary conduct and optimize their performance in the House. No action was recommended against three members who have since retired. The panel stressed the importance of maintaining decorum and warned against countenancing unbecoming behaviour, stating it could be the “death knell of democracy.”

A separate report on Sanjay Singh highlighted his “highly indecorous and unbecoming conduct” but recommended accepting his unconditional apology. The committee suggested discontinuing his suspension, taking into account the punishment already served.

The panel also addressed a breach of privilege case against ‘Telangana Today’ for misreporting on a Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting. The matter was settled after the editor accepted the error and tendered an unconditional apology.