New Delhi, July 7 (Inditop.com) Over 170 first-time MPs attended an orientation programme organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat where they were given valuable tips by veteran parliamentarians like L.K. Advani and Shivraj Patil.
They were tutored on the finer art of parliamentary etiquette and how to ask questions in the house and other house procedures.
The secretariat is so overwhelmed by the response that they now plan to line up more senior ministers and even former presiding officers to speak on issues such as parliamentary questions and other procedures that MPs can use to raise issues in the house.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar inaugurated the week-long programme.
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Hamid Ansari the disciplinarian
That Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari is known for being a disciplinarian is something members are well aware of. Thus, they respond immediately when he as much as hints at raising his voice or stands up if a ruckus breaks out in the house.
On Tuesday, Left MPs were furious when Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi, while replying to a question on the functioning of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), noted that West Bengal had on an average generated just six days of work to beneficiaries of the scheme against the promised 100 days.
Gesticulating wildly and shouting at the top of their voices, Left MPs ignored Ansari’s repeated pleas for calm, forcing him to stand up and declare: “Honourable members, this house will be run by the rules. If you want an altercation, please step outside.”
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Tiger talk
Jairam Ramesh has a reputation for number crunching. He is an economist by training and tends to forget that he is now a politician in charge of the ministry of forests and environment.
After Rajiv Pratap Rudy of Bharatiya Janata Party had moved the calling motion in Rajya Sabha on India’s dwindling tiger population, Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan called on Ramesh to respond.
“Why should I read out my reply? I’ve already laid it on the table of the house,” Ramesh retorted as the Rajya Sabha staff hurriedly distributed the two-page statement among the members.
Despite repeated insistence by Khan to read out his statement, Ramesh persisted. “I don’t want to go through the formality of reading my reply. I will not read the statement but make brief comments,” he said with a touch of annoyance. He then proceeded to do so, triggering a marathon debate that lasted nearly 70 minutes and was surprisingly devoid of political rancour.
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Railways minister’s promises only slogans?
Former railways minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday said the demands by MPs for railway stations in their constituencies and the railways minister’s assurance was all hogwash.
Lalu Prasad’s comment came when BJP leader Ananth Kumar said most of the projects and rail budget proposals had been given to West Bengal.
An embittered Kumar was quick to retaliate. “If Lalu says that these are only slogans, it indicates that nothing has been given to the ‘aam aadmi’ by the previous UPA government (of which Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal was also a partner),” Ananth Kumar said.
rounak