Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha has agreed to issue an apology to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, following a suggestion from the Supreme Court, which said that it hopes the Chairman would take a sympathetic view of the matter. The suggestion from the apex court came on Friday in the context of the controversy surrounding the select committee.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to apprise it of the developments in the matter after the Diwali vacation.
Chadha, who was
suspended from the Rajya Sabha on August 11 during the Monsoon session of Parliament, faced allegations of breaching privilege. The 34-year-old AAP MP was accused of not obtaining consent from five Rajya Sabha MPs before including their names in a select committee responsible for reviewing the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023. This bill aimed to diminish the power of the elected AAP government in Delhi over various services.
The complaint made by the five MPs regarding the alleged breach of privilege led to the matter being referred to the privileges committee. Chadha's suspension remained in effect until the committee submitted its final report.
On October 30, the Supreme Court took up Chadha's petition challenging his indefinite suspension. During the hearing, the court expressed its concern over the indefinite suspension of a Member of Parliament, particularly one from the opposition. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, stressed the importance of having diverse voices in Parliament, including those from outside the ruling dispensation.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
