New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has said that the Chair should be given more powers to act against errant members on the floor of the House.
According to media reports, Ansari has urged the Rules Committee of the House to meet and frame new rules similar to the Lok Sabha, allowing the Chair to throw out members disrupting proceedings.
At present, the Rajya Sabha rules do not give the Chair the power to suspend a MP whereas in Lok Sabha, Rule 370 entitles the Speaker to suspend an unruly member.
In Rajya Sabha, to suspend a member, the government or any other MP has to bring a motion which would then need to be passed in the House.
Indian Express reported that Ansari may call a meeting of the general purposes committee (GPC), which is attended by leaders of all political parties, next week to discuss the new rule.
The Vice President also wants to bring all political parties on board before amending the rules.
The Vice President's office said that this is not the first time that Ansari has sought more powers to act against disrupting members.
The Winter Session of the Parliament has been witnessing repeated disruptions over several issues raised by the Opposition parties.
