On February 9, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar protesting the “directions…made by the Chair to authenticate six observations” he had made during his speech in the House the previous day. Kharge pointed out that Parliament is the “platform to fix the accountability of the Executive”, and criticism of the government amounts neither to an allegation against an individual Member nor to an attack on the dignity of the Council of States. Kharge also underlined that Article 105 of the Constitution “guarantees freedom of speech for the Members of Parliament”.
