AAP's Raghav Chadha Gets Parliament Panel's Notice Over Letter On Delhi Services Bill

Five Rajya Sabha MPs moved a Privilege Motion against AAP MP Raghav Chadha over a letter, in which, they claimed, their signatures had been forged.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha

Source : PTI

The privilege committee of Parliament has served a notice on Raghav Chadha, asking in the notice, Raghav Chadha why action should not be taken against him for breach of privilege on the allegations levelled against him. The controversy erupted after five Rajya Sabha MPs demanded to move a Privilege Motion against him, alleging that their names were included in a proposed select committee of the House for the Delhi services bill without their consent. The select committee was proposed by Chadha to examine the Delhi services bill.

The privilege committee meeting on Wednesday evening looked into the complaints of the five MPs - BJP's S Phangnon Konyak, Narhari Amin and Sudhanshu Trivedi, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai, and BJD MP Sasmit Patra.

Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar earlier accepted the matter regarding the breach of privileges and sent it to the committee for further consideration. Earlier, M Thambidurai said, "My name has been included in the motion without my authorization. I did not sign any document. My signature might have been forged."

On Monday, when one of Rajya Sabha's deputy chairpersons read out the list of names intended for the proposed select committee, Home Minister Amit Shah informed the House that five members had reported the inclusion of their names without their consent in the proposal initiated by the AAP leader. Shah stressed the importance of investigating this matter, terming it a breach of the House's privilege.

Shah expressed the necessity of ascertaining who had signed on behalf of the concerned members, emphasizing the need for an investigation. He urged the Chair to document statements from the complainant members.

Subsequently, three members, namely Sasmit Patra of the BJD, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK, and S Phangnon Konyak of the BJP, rose to their feet and communicated to the House that they had not been consulted regarding the inclusion of their names in the proposed select committee.