If something is expunged no member should make issue out of it: RS Chairman 

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said that every member of the House has a precious reputation to preserve, and therefore, anything that has been expunged should never get traction.  

He said, "This House is not a place for free fall of information, we cannot damage reputations earned over decades. Members need to be counselled, political parties must educate their members.”

Earlier in the day, the Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, showed his displeasure at a statement made by BJP MP Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Kharge said that Anurag Thakur has made false and baseless allegations against him.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that constitutionally highly positioned persons have been subjected to insinuations with no remorse.

He said, "As the Chairman, I maintained utmost restraint, and I indicated that not only the Leader of the Opposition but very Constitutionally highly positioned persons, including Prime Minister have been subjected to insinuations with no remorse."

The Chairman said, “Hon'ble Members, in your presence right now, Jairam Ramesh has levelled the most atrocious allegation against the Chair that the Chair is diverting the issue. Please mark my words: your Chairman was called a cheerleader by Jairam Ramesh. And imagine my pain when a senior Congress leader videographed a mimicry of the Chairman on the sacred premises of this House, and imagine the pain of the millions of people in the country when you have travelled outside only to taint, tarnish, demean and spoil reputations.”

He said, “I showed highest respect to the Leader of Opposition but if you mean to politicise then let me tell you expunction by Chairman should bring quietus to the issue, number one; and number two, I have tasked the Ethics Committee headed by Ghanshyam Tiwari to get in touch with experts, try to devise a mechanism so that members can be counselled. Parties have to take responsibility for how to rectify the reputations, how to save reputations, and I have seen Derek O’Brien gesticulating to his members. Can we ever countenance it? And gentlemen, when I expunged observations of Derek O’Brien, he put them on social media on Twitter- Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8.”

Jagdeep Dhankhar said he would go to any extent to preserve order in this House.

He said, "If you do not recognise the stature of the Prime Minister in his third term, you take things so contemptuously with the President of India, the first tribal woman, a lady of grace, a lady of devotion, sacrifices at large, in her personality and these insinuations. These expressions have not emanated from ordinary members. The source of these allegations is from the political leadership."

“I was trying to be accommodative for the sheer respect I have for every member here, but then this is used as a political transaction, it is used to set a political narrative. On this day, the day on which the Rajya Sabha came into being, let us think deeply. I don't want to create any situation other than convergence of views to run the House more effectively,” he added.