New Delhi, Aug 29: Thumping the desk is considered by some as passing a resolution, an opposition member remarked in the Lok Sabha today in an obvious dig at the way the debate on the Lokpal issue was concluded.
“Madam, earlier, you said about children of India and the whole House supported you in that. I also wanted to thump my desk but I was scared because thumping the desk is considered by some as passing a resolution,” Tathagat Sathpathy (BJD) said in the Lok Sabha today.
He had risen to ask a supplementary question during Question Hour on modernisation of communication system in ships to prevent accidents.
There was confusion whether a resolution had been passed or only a sense of the House taken in both Houses of Parliament on Saturday during the debate on the Lokpal issue.
Sathpathy's comment led to laughter in the House while the Treasury Benches maintained a discrete silence.
On Saturday, Leader of the House and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had only read out a statement followed by thumping of desks before the Chair adjourned the House for the day though Opposition members expected a proper resolution to be moved and passed by voice vote.
A senior BJP leader said even the wording of the resolution was discussed with the government, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mukherjee. It was written by Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia and approved by Singh himself with a few minor changes. The main opposition was expecting it would be put to vote.
“If a resolution had been moved in the House, the Leader of the House would have read it. The Chair would have then put it to vote asking for ayes and noes. Only then would it be considered passed,” the BJP leader said.
A resolution is binding on the government while a sense of the House is not. Technically, it was only a sense of the House that was taken.
However, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's letter to Anna Hazare said a resolution had been passed by Parliament on his three demands.
The BJP leader reasoned that this could be so as the letter itself was written before the sense of the House was taken. PTI
