Restoring decorum in the Houses a big challenge
In the recent past, Vice-President and chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar had expressed deep concern over unruly behaviour by a section of members in the Upper House. In the state legislature, it is more or less a similar situation. The use of unparliamentary words and rushing towards the podium has become a rule, rather than an exception. When Narwekar issued a stern warning to erring members, they tendered an unconditional apology, following which there was normalcy in the House.
Certain senior members raised the issue of decorum and a need for fresh rules. It was then submitted that rules on discipline and decorum were already in place but very rarely implemented, as a result of which most members did not take them seriously. Even senior members have flouted the rules. A week ago, former speaker and former MPCC president Nana Patole climbed the speaker's podium but was restrained by security personnel.
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Shockingly, Patole did not express regret after the House resumed proceedings.
It was found the level of discussion and language used by members, too, is shocking and expressed without any regret. Leading politicians have expressed shock over the language used even by senior members. Veteran politicians like Vasantrao Naik, who was the CM for the longest period, Sharad Pawar, Vilasrao Deshmukh and S B Chavan participated in all debates, but they ensured that decorum and discipline were maintained.
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Parab's bombshell
Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab dropped a bombshell when he disclosed that visitors facing charges of murder and booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act were loitering freely in the legislature hall. Immediately after Parab's claim, speaker Rahul Narwekar banned the entry of visitors. According to legislature officials, the curbs were enforced immediately. In the past too, such prohibitory orders were promulgated but not implemented in letter and spirit.
Apparently, the visitors Parab referred to were supporters of NCP (SP) legislator Jitendra Awhad and BJP's Gopichand Padalkar. They engaged in a huge scuffle in the assembly's lobby, which was brought to Narwekar's notice. The matter was put to rest after both Awhad and Padalkar expressed regret over the clash.
More shocking were the disclosures by Parab, who submitted that even as the legislature secretariat stated that entry passes are issued in accordance with the rules and regulations, the same are sold at a very high price. As a result, he said, several agents and unauthorised persons and agents gain entry to the legislature hall. Again, a big challenge not only for the presiding officers but the entire secretariat too.
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Around the same time, Pragya Singh Thakur called Dwivedi and asked him to remind Purohit to provide explosives to Ramji and Dange. At her insistence, Dwivedi called Purohit, who suggested not discussing such topics over the phone, and instead, having the discussion in person when he would be in Ujjain. The NIA charge sheet, however, does not include any of these confessions—it argued the accused gave the statements under provisions of the MCOCA, which the agency had not invoked in the chargesheet. Sudhakar Dwivedi 'retracted from his confessional statement in front of the magistrate', the NIA told the court. 'This confessional statement does not have any evidentiary value' since the agency's charge sheet does not include any MCOCA provisions, the NIA further submitted in the court, thereby diluting the case. The NIA also cited a retracted statement from a prosecution witness, who allegedly earlier told the ATS about his presence at a meeting of Abhinav Bharat in Bhopal in April 2008 when, the witness confessed, Purohit discussed taking revenge on Muslims by carrying out blasts in Muslim-populated areas, especially Malegaon. At the same meeting—Dwivedi allegedly confessed before the ATS—Pragya Singh Thakur offered to provide men for the blasts. During his re-examination by the NIA, Dwivedi retracted his statement and claimed he did not attend any Abhinav Bharat meeting in Bhopal. Instead, he said, he did not visit Bhopal until the ATS took him to a Ram Mandir in the city in May 2012. He later reiterated this claim before a magistrate in a statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC. The NIA cited another witness, who allegedly told the ATS about an 8 October 2008 meeting between Ramji and Pragya Singh Thakur, post the Malegaon blast. Ramji, the witness told the ATS, confessed before Pragya Singh Thakur that he had carried out the Malegaon blast with the help of her LML freedom bike. However, the NIA said in court that the witness, when produced before the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class at Indore on 26 November 2008, complained about torture in the custody of the ATS and that officers forced him to record his previous statement under 164 CrPC. Citing the contradictions in statements recorded by the ATS at various stages, including in the MCOCA depositions, the NIA argued that no case under MCOCA could be made out against any of the accused and also gave a clean chit to Pragya Singh Thakur and five others. The NIA, however, found Purohit and nine others culpable of prosecution under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and the Indian Penal Code. On the other hand, the Special NIA court in Mumbai found sufficient material to justify trial proceedings against Pragya Singh Thakur also. 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