Amid voting for the Delhi Services Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan on Monday called for an investigation and termed "very serious" the allegations of five MPs that their "forged signatures" were added by AAP MP Raghav Chadha to the motion for a proposed Select Committee on the draft legislation. Raghav Chadha responded on the allegations by saying, "Let a notice be given and I will respond to it."
The five MPs were S Phangnon Konyak, Narhari Amin and Sudhanshu Trivedi of the BJP, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK and Sasmit Patra of the BJD.
"Never heard of such a thing in 30-40 years as a bureaucrat and a Parliamentarian," says Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
They alleged that their names were included in the proposed Select Committee on Delhi Services Bill without their consent. Speaking to ANI, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri expressed concern, saying he never heard of any such thing in his 30-40 years as a bureaucrat and a Parliamentarian.
"In my six years as a minister or the 30-40 years that I've been watching Parliament and covering it as a civil servant, I've never seen something like this happen...This should be seriously inquired into," the senior BJP leader said.
Echoing the refrains of his party colleague, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, too, termed it a "very serious issue".
"It's a very serious issue that the AAP leader (Raghav Chadha), who submitted the Select Committee notice, included names of members from the ruling BJP, BJD and the AIADMK without their consent. It's akin to forging their signatures. The members concerned have written to Rajya Sabha Chairman about it," Muraleedharan told ANI.
The MPs demanded a Privilege Motion against Raghav Chadha.
YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy said, "Raghav Chadha has made certain comments and we have countered those comments. Whenever a resolution has to be moved, he has to consult the members whose names are included in it, but Raghav Chadha without consulting the members, has included their names and one of our party members' names has also been included without consulting the member."
BJP's Narhari Amin, one of the five MPs, says name included without consent
Speaking to ANI, BJP's Narhari Amin, one of the five MPs, said, "Raghav Chadha included my name in the (proposed) Select Committee. He did not speak to me for consent. And neither did I give my consent. What he did was wrong. I did not even put my signature." Meanwhile, Chadha said that he will reply to the Privileges Committee once they send him a notice.
Thambidurai said he has already written to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, seeking his intervention in the matter.
"I have written to the Rajya Sabha Chairman requesting that the matter be taken up by the Privileges Committee. How was my name is included in the motion, as I had not signed on any document? It's likely that my signature was forged," the AIADMK MP said.
Delhi Services Bill, 2023 Passed In RS
Meanwhile, after 8 hours of discussion and debate, the Bill to replace the Centre's Ordinance for control of services in the national capital was passed by the Upper House after a division in which 131 MPs voted in favour of the legislation and 102 against it.
Taking up the Bill for discussion earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "Since being founded, the AAP has been hurling abuses at the Congress. And, today, they are seeking the Congress' support in its opposition to this draft law. The moment this Bill is passed, Arvind Kejriwal-ji palat jayenge (the moment the Bill is passed, Kejriwal would flip." The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.
