Two Trinamool Congress MPs on Monday submitted a notice to move privilege motion against former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi over his remarks about attending Parliament, reported PTI. The notice from TMC members Jawhar Sircar and Mausam Noor is yet to be admitted by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. In a recent interview to NDTV, Ranjan Gogoi had said that in the wake of COVID-19 curbs and lack of physical distancing, he likes to attend Rajya Sabha “when he feels like and when he thinks there are matters of importance on which he should speak.”
Besides TMC MPs, several other MPs from various opposition parties are also expected to file notices of privilege motion against Gogoi, sources told PTI. Sircar and Noor have filed the notice for privilege motion over Gogoi's remarks about attending Parliament, they said. MPs from the TMC are also expected to file a complaint against Gogoi with the Ethics Committee, they said.
A few days ago, Ranjan Gogoi spoke to NDTV’s Sreenivasan Jain after the release of his book, controversially titled ‘Justice for the Judge.’ Ranjan Gogoi’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 had raised eyebrows as it came shortly after his retirement as the Chief Justice of India. At the time Gogoi had said that he accepted the nomination to work for the public. However, when Sreenivasan Jain pointed out that his attendance in the Rajya Sabha was quite poor, Gogoi cited COVID-19 precautions and that he goes ‘when he feels like’ to the Parliament.
“The pandemic is on and even today I do not feel very comfortable going to the Rajya Sabha. Though social distancing norms have been enforced, they are not being observed. The sitting arrangements, I don't find very comfortable. But that is not the point. The point is, I go to the Rajya Sabha when I feel like. When I think there are matters of importance on which I should speak,” Gogoi said. He also added that he is a nominated member (by the BJP) and is not governed by any party whip.
“Therefore, whenever the bell rings for party members to come, it does not bind me. I go there at my choice and come out at my choice... I am an independent member of the House," Justice Gogoi said in the interview.
Watch Gogoi's comments to NDTV: