CPWD says Oppn MPs broke mics of Rajya Sabha chairman, caused farm bills audio blackout

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on Monday blamed the Opposition parties for the microphones going off in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the contentious farm Bills in September, which led to a brief audio blackout on Rajya Sabha TV too.

The Opposition had accused the Upper House authorities of deliberately switching off the microphones to silence the critics of the Bills. The CPWD, which is responsible for the maintenance of the Parliament building, wrote to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, stating that the interruption during the passage of bills on September 20 was due to the damage caused to the chairman’s microphones by the MPs.

READ | Rajya Sabha Cracks Down On 8 'unruly' MPs, Extends Suspension Till End Of Session

The Upper House witnessed unruly behaviour and misconduct during the discussion and passage of the farm reform bills, with some MPs pulling the microphone of deputy chairman Harivansh, storming into the Well of the House, throwing papers and House rule book at the Chair and abusing him. As many as eight Opposition leaders were suspended till the end of the monsoon session for their “gross disorderly conduct”.

While the Opposition denied damaging the microphones, the CPWD stated in its letter that as per the directions of the chair, no other mics were on except those of the chairman. Hence, when these mics were broken, there was no audio output from the system to RSTV for a brief period.

The CPWD also ruled out any technical issue, saying that the sound system was working fine and the audio feed resumed after the broken mics were replaced with the permission of marshals and table office.

READ | Muting Of Democratic India Continues: Congress On Rajya Sabha MPs Suspension

Ruckus in Parliament over farm bills

On September 20, Parliament marshals had to form a double-layered barricade to protect Harivansh, when the MPs heckled him, seemingly for not paying heed to their demand for dividing votes on the two reform Bills. The bills were passed through voice vote, without being referred to a select committee of Parliament.

The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress accused each other of not upholding democratic norms after Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu took action against MPs from four Opposition parties for their protest.

Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’Brien and his colleague Dola Sen; Aam Admi Party’s Sanjay Singh; Congress’s Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah; and KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were among the suspended MPs. 

The controversy over the farm bills has hardly abated, however, with farmers marching through Punjab and Haryana in the thousands and currently camped at key entry-exit points around Delhi in a deadlock with the Centre.

READ | 8 Rajya Sabha MPs Including Derek O'Brien & Sanjay Singh Suspended For 1 Week For Ruckus

READ | Shocking Rajya Sabha Video Of Sanjay Singh Grabbing marshal By Throat In crowded House Out