Congress MP accuses Kiren Rijiju of breaching privilege, insulting Parliament

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has accused Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju of breaching parliamentary privilege and disrespecting the House by seeking clarification from Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on the Congress' stance regarding Muslim reservations.

Tagore, on Tuesday, urged the privilege committee to take action. "The Parliamentary Affairs Minister has breached privilege and insulted the House itself. Being the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, he should not have done this. This is a valid reason for breach of privilege... I hope the privilege committee takes action. Though, till now in Lok Sabha, no privilege committee has been set up," he said.

The controversy erupted after Rijiju questioned Kharge over Congress’ position on reservations for Muslims, citing remarks made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Rijiju called Shivakumar’s comments "extremely serious."

The issue led to disruptions in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Monday, as BJP leaders, including Rijiju and Union Health Minister JP Nadda, demanded clarity from the Congress. The ruling party accused the opposition of making contradictory statements regarding the Constitution and quota policies.

In response, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh submitted a breach of privilege notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar against Rijiju, alleging that he misled the House on Shivakumar’s statements.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar hit back at the BJP, accusing it of misinterpreting his remarks. He maintained that his comments on the reservation were based on judicial rulings and constitutional amendments.

"I don't want to comment much on it. There is no hide-and-seek in this issue. On quotas, there are several judgments which have come, and after every judgment, amendments have been made to the Constitution; there is nothing else. So they (BJP) are trying to twist it. They don't have any issues. I am happy that Jairam Ramesh has moved a privilege motion. I am also consulting legal experts," said the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister.