"If You Don't Participate In Debate...": Veep Counsels P Chidambaram

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said a member of Parliament shows concurrence by not participating in a debate on a bill, as he launched a fresh attack on former Union minister P Chidambaram over his comments on the three criminal justice laws.

This is for the second time since Saturday that Mr Dhankhar has targeted P Chidambaram over his remarks on the three criminal justice laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam -- which came into force on July 1.

Addressing a group of Rajya Sabha interns here, Mr Dhankhar, without naming Mr Chidambaram, said, "He said nothing in the House (Rajya Sabha). He was a member of the committee (department-related standing committee on Home)".

If a member is part of the committee, makes his point of view before the committee, the committee by majority holds otherwise, that member has great opportunity to participate in the proceedings before the House and make his point known and try to convince others by persuasion, logic and rationality, Mr Dhankhar said.

"If you do not discharge your constitutional duty, if you do not participate in the debate, if you do not take your point further, you are in a sense not performing your duty. And then if you say something outside, you suffer the handicap that you had valuable opportunity, constitutional platform, a rare opportunity that is available only to members of Parliament, you fail to avail the opportunity, in a sense you forfeit your right." the vice president said.

Mr Dhankhar asserted that "you show your concurrence by non-participation, by observing silence".

He said by not participating in the (House) proceedings and making remarks outside is not correct.

On Saturday, the vice president had lashed out at Mr Chidambaram over his comment that the three new criminal laws were "drafted by part-timers", terming it as "inexcusable" and urged him to withdraw his "derogatory, defamatory and insulting" observation.

Dhankhar said he was "shocked beyond words" when in the morning he read Chidambaram's interview to a leading national daily wherein he had said that "the new laws were drafted by part-timers".

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