Raghav Chadha appears before RS panel on breach of privilege complaint against him

PTI, Nov 28, 2023, 8:36 PM IST

Source: PTI / File

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday appeared before the Privileges Committee of Rajya Sabha and put forth his version on the comments made by him in public on which he is facing a complaint of breach of privilege of the House.

Chadha is also learnt to have tendered an apology before the panel and told the members that he had met Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar too about the matter.

Though Chadha came before the panel during its meeting held in the Parliament House complex, no decision has yet been taken on the complaint, sources said.

The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha is looking into the complaint of breach of privilege against some MPs, including AAP leader Raghav Chadha. It is also looking into complaints against MPs Sanjay Singh and Derek O’Brien.

The sources said the committee has sought a report from Chadha by November 7.

Both Chadha and Singh are currently suspended from the House.

Chadha is under suspension since August 11 after some MPs, most of them from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused him of adding their names to a motion without their consent. The motion had sought the constitution of a select committee to examine the contentious Delhi Services Bill.

The meeting of the panel happened after the Supreme Court made some observations in a case filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader against his suspension.

The apex court has asked Chadha to tender an unconditional apology to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on the select committee issue and hoped that the latter would take a ”sympathetic” view on the matter.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to apprise it of the developments in the matter after the Diwali vacation.

The CJI has said the lawmaker will have to meet the Rajya Sabha chairman to tender an unconditional apology on the issue. The vice president, in turn, may take a sympathetic view of the entire matter and initiate further steps in this regard, the court has said.

Earlier, during the hearing on Chadha’s suspension, the court had observed that an indefinite suspension of an MP could have very serious repercussions for people’s rights to be represented by a person of their choice.