'You Ravaged This House, Sit Down': Dhankar Slams Derek O'Brien For Misconduct In Yet Another Embarrassment For TMC

During a heated debate on Delhi Services Bill, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar accused TMC member Derek O'Brien of engaging in 'theatrics' in order to gain publicity.

The outburst from Dhankhar occurred when Derek O'Brien refused to confine his speech to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and instead launched into a series of allegations against the central government.

The chairman, visibly frustrated, told O'Brien, "This has become your habit. You are doing this as part of a strategy. You think you will enjoy publicity outside. You ravaged this House. Sit down."

Expressing his disappointment, Dhankhar stated, "Are you here for dramatics, theatrics? Is it part of your oath? Such outsmarting never pays off. Here is a member who is solely seeking personal publicity. I take strong note of this."

The Chair decided to remove certain remarks made by the TMC member during their speech.

During the debate, O'Brien expressed his strong opposition to the bill, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a product of federalism, having been a chief minister before coming to Delhi. He questioned why someone who is considered a "child of democracy" would undermine democracy.

He further questioned why someone who is seen as a supporter of federalism would come to Parliament and pass a significant number of bills that are against federalism.

Additionally, he pointed out the contradiction of a supposed advocate for federalism allocating Rs 40,000 crore as a special budget for higher education while only giving Rs 700 crore to state universities.

The Centre was accused of practising "transactional federalism."

The opposition stated that they would oppose the bill regardless of whether the Centre paid the owed Rs 12,000 crore. They emphasised that transactional federalism would not be effective and announced plans for a rally on 12 October to demand the owed amount.

During the discussion, the opposition member questioned the Centre's actions, highlighting the number of delegations sent to BJP-ruled states compared to states with higher crime rates. The Governor requested the member to focus on the bill, but the member insisted on making political points, asserting that it was a political forum.

The opposition member pointed towards the treasury benches, expressing the need to prevent them from having unrestricted control.

The Chair requested him to take a seat and expressed that such behaviour would not benefit anyone.

Refusing to back down, the MP was met with the Chair's statement, "I will not tolerate this theatrics." In response to the BJP's accusation of dynastic politics, O'Brien challenged the government to introduce a bill that would restrict House membership to only one member per family.

As a result of his remark, the ruling benches began to protest, preventing the TMC MP from continuing his speech.

Despite the Chair's intervention, he stood up again to speak, but the chaos persisted. Troubled by the disorder in the House, the chairman stood up and asked O'Brien to leave, citing his conduct as disgraceful.