New Delhi: A group of 204 retired officers, including 116 from the armed forces, wrote an open letter expressing deep concern over the conduct of Leader of Opposition and Congress leader RahulGandhi and opposition MPs on March 12 inside Parliament premises.
The group slammed Gandhi and other opposition MPs for sitting on the steps of Parliament and having tea and biscuits “in a manner that was wholly unbecoming of members of the nation’s highest legislative body”. The group said that despite the explicit instruction issued by the Speaker prohibiting demonstrations or protests within Parliament premises the Opposition, led by Rahul Gandhi, chose to disregard this directive on March 12.
The signatories, who included 84 bureaucrats, including four former ambassadors, and four senior advocates, further said that the steps of Parliament are not a venue for “spectacle or political theatre”.
“Such conduct within the precincts of Parliament represents a clear disregard for established norms of behaviour and decorum. It reflects an attitude of arrogance and entitlement, and a troubling lack of respect for an institution that embodies the democratic will of the people of India,” they said in the open letter.
Dignity of Parliament not a matter of mere convention
The group of eminent personalities underlined that the conduct of MPs within the precincts of the Parliament House must, consequently, conform to the highest standards of propeirty and institutional respect.
“Parliamemt of India occupies a unique and elevated position within our constitutional architecture. It is the supreme forum of democratic deliberation where the collective will of the people is articulated, laws are shaped, and the foundations of the Republic are continually reaffirmed. The dignity of Parliament, therefore, is not a matter of mere convention but an essential element of the constitutional ethos that governs our democracy,” the letter read.
“Parliamentary practice and long-standing conventions recognise that the sanctity attached to the Chambers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha extends equally to all areas within the parliamentary precincts, including its stairs corridors and lobbies,” it added.
The group said that these are not incidental spaces but integral parts of Parliament itself, and the conduct expected therein must reflect the dignity of the institution.
“Such a deliberate defiance of the Chair does not merely procedure, it reflects a conscious disregard for parliamentary authority and a willingness to place personal political theatrics above the dignity and constitutional institution,” the letter states.
RaGa lowered level of public discourse
The group underscored that Parliament is regarded as the temple of democracy where deliberations on matters of national importance are held, and alleged that Gandhi has repeatedly contributed to lowering the level of public discourse and decorum “through theatrics” both inside and outside Parliament.
“Such actions suggest a pattern of conduct driven less by respect for democratic institutions mml more by a sense of personal privilege that treats Parliament as a stage for provocative rather than a forum for serious deliberation, hi the process, valuable public time and resources are lost. Parliamentary proceedings must not be disrupted or trivialised in ways that undermine the functioning of this vital democratic institution,” they said.
“The fact that such behaviour is being carried out by a person who occupies a position as responsible and important the Leader of Opposition makes it even more disturbing,” they added.
The group said that as custodians of a constitutional institution that embodies the democratic aspirations of over a billion people, MPs must remain conscious that their actions “carry symbolic and institutional significance”.
“The credibility of Parliament is reinforced when its Members uphold the traditions of propriety and restraint that have always defined parliamentary life,” they said.
Seeks RaGa’s apology
Voicing concern over the incident, they said, “As citizens who have served this nation for decades in public life, we are deeply pained to witness repeated attempts, by Rahul Gandhi and his associates that risk weakening the effectiveness of this temple of democracy.”
They sought Gandhi’s apology for his behaviour and advised him to introspect on his attitude so that the solemnity, authority and institutional sanctity of Parliament remain fully preserved.
“As citizens committed to the preservation and strengthening of India’s demount, institutions, it is incumbent upon all of us to call out conduct that diminishes the dignity of Parliament, an institution that embodies tile sovereign will of the people of India. The events witnessed reflect a troubling sense of hubris and privilege that has no place in a constitutional democracy, let alone in the conduct of the Leader of the Opposition,” the letter added.