Panel dismisses case after Raut regrets article
The Privileges Committee of Rajya Sabha on Monday said an article written by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on north Indians has brought down the image of parliamentarians in the public eye. However, with Mr Raut expressing regret both orally and in writing, the committee recommended no action against the Shiv Sena leader, who is also the executive editor of Sena mouthpiece Saamna.
The committee also said that the case need not be further pursued. In its report, the panel, chaired by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman
K Rahman Khan, said the plain reading of the article gave an impression that the writer’s attempt was to “ridicule the House and its members and to bring down the image of the members in the public eye”.
The Committee went into the case of breach of privilege by the article in Saamna. The case was referred against the article in the Marathi daily by the Lok Sabha Speaker to the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
“The statements like ‘the MPs from UP and Bihar are leading this tirade against the Maharashtrians in the Lok Sabha’ are certainly, quite derogatory, unpleasant and made in bad taste”, the Committee said.
Noting that though the press has the liberty to express its views freely on matters of public importance, the committee said “if anyone exceeds the limits of fair comment/criticism, indulges in imputation of motives to MPs or uses abusive language against them, he or she shall be guilty of the contempt and will attract the penal jurisdiction of the House”.
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