On Friday, the Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected the (AAP) Aam Aadmi Party’s request to appoint MP Raghav Chadha as the party’s leader in the upper house.
Why did Dhankhar reject AAP’s request?
The AAP Party’s chairman and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Dhankhar proposing Raghav Chadha’s name as the interim leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha, on December 14. “I would like to propose the name of Raghav Chadha as the interim party leader in the Rajya Sabha…We request that this change be allowed as per the rules and procedures of the Rajya Sabha,” he wrote to the secretariat.
The letter even stated that Chadha was a “proven leader” with a “deep understanding of parliamentary procedure”. It is also noted that he was “well respected” by the members of all parties in the upper house.
However, the Rajya Sabha secretariat rejected the party’s request, and cited legal reasons behind the rejection, stating that there were no provisions for the “Leaders and Chief Whips of Recognized Parties and Groups in Parliament (Facilities) Act, 1998” for the appointment of an interim leader of a party.
What does the Act state?
The Act primarily deals with the facilities provided to the leaders and Chief Whips of recognized parties and groups in Parliament. It specifies a “recognized group” or “leaders” as every party at least has 10% of the total number of seats in both houses. But currently, the AAP didn’t fulfil this criterion in the Rajya Sabha, having only 3 seats out of 230 seats.
Also, the Act doesn’t mention the appointment of an interim leader, because this might create confusion when replacing a leader if they’re unavailable due to reasons like legal proceedings or health issues.
AAP’s response
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is preparing a revised letter addressing the concerns raised by the Rajya Sabha secretariat. The revised letter either clarifies or finds an alternative interpretation of the Act to support this case.
The party’s sources, suggest that the request has not been denied but “some corrections were sought, which will be addressed”. Until the party clarifies its intention, Singh will continue as the leader of the AAP in Rajya Sabha.
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