Parliament muted

The Lok Sabha today witnessed noisy protests and questionable high handed decision by the chair. Many members of the opposition mainly from Tamil Nadu came to the house wearing T shirts with slogans against the possible delimitation of parliamentary seats and the speaker Mr Om Birla took an exception to it and adjourned the house until noon and was further adjourned by the tdp mp Krishna tenneti who was officiating on the chair. The speaker had objected to the printed T shirt and asked the protesting mps to return after changing them and only then he would allow the house to function. He said that it was against the dignity and decorum of the house as per rule 349 While sloganeering and carrying of placards is definitely against the rule but wearing of T shirts is not a violation of the rule. Delimitation is a very serious issue specially for the southern states who might stand losing their political significance due to their successful implementation of population control measures. Such protests are a legitimate form of political statement in parliamentary system and the chair should have the ability to bear with it. Secondly the idea of T shirts being informal in nature and against decorum is not acceptable in the parliament both because the members of the highest forum don’t need to be instructed on dressing and that as peoples representatives they reflect the most popular dress choice of the people. T shirts are the most popular choice of the working class who find it cheap and comfortable. The symbolic value which LOP Mr Rahul Gandhi has lent to T shirts might also have played its role in agonizing the speaker.