On Monday, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra filed a privilege notice against Union Minister Kiren Rijiju following his remarks in the Lok Sabha on December 13. Moitra sought to be referred to the privileges committee for further review.
Her notice follows a similar move by her party colleague, Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose, who also filed a privilege notice against Rijiju, accusing him of targeting Opposition members. Rijiju stated, “If such a thing is said, action should be taken. Otherwise, this kind of woman, any member, will get up and talk like this… They are setting a very wrong precedent.”
Moitra invoked Rule 222 of the Lok Sabha’s Rules of Procedure, which addresses the conduct of members. She argued that Rijiju’s remarks were personal attacks against Opposition members. The notice has garnered support from several Opposition leaders, including Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, A. Raja, Dayanidhi Maran (DMK), Dimple Yadav (SP), and Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and KC Venugopal.
Earlier, Rijiju made controversial remarks, claiming that the opposition was unfit to sit in Parliament. Ghose strongly criticized the comments, accusing Rijiju of misusing his position as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. She called for an apology and urged that his statement, which questioned the Opposition’s fitness to be in Parliament, be expunged from the records.