Rajya Sabha erupts as Kharge, Nadda lock horns over Lok Bhavan issue

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday witnessed sharp exchanges between Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Chairman CP Radhakrishnan, after a debate was taken up on the Centre’s move to rename Raj Bhavan as Lok Bhavan across states. The disagreement escalated when Kharge accused Leader of the House JP Nadda of “bulldozing” Opposition voices by pressuring the Chair to delete certain remarks from the House records.

The confrontation began soon after TMC MP Dola Sen spoke during the discussion and criticised the Centre for what she termed an attempt to run a “parallel government” through Raj Bhavans. She alleged that the name change was carried out without consulting state governments, despite state exchequers bearing the expenses of Raj Bhavans for years. Sen argued that the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs was implemented in West Bengal without state-level dialogue and claimed that this amounted to an attack on federalism.

Escalating her criticism, Sen accused the BJP-led Centre of withholding large dues owed to West Bengal, including ₹43,000 crore under MNREGA, ₹42,600 crore for cyclone-related relief, and ₹24,200 crore under the Rural Housing Scheme. She said the Centre’s approach was part of a “larger conspiracy.”

Soon after her speech, JP Nadda urged the Chair to review and remove portions of Sen’s remarks that he said were unrelated to the scheduled discussion. “She was permitted to speak during Zero Hour, but she used the opportunity to raise issues related to MNREGA and other matters. Since these are not connected to the subject of Lok Bhavan, they should be deleted from the record,” Nadda said.

Chairman Radhakrishnan concurred, reiterating that only comments strictly connected to the topic would remain on record.

This prompted an immediate and firm objection from Kharge, who charged the government with attempting to censor Opposition voices. “Everything she said is connected to the subject. After examining the matter in your office, she was permitted to speak. The Leader of the House cannot interfere and say everything is unparliamentary. Leader is telling, Leader is bulldozing,” Kharge told the Chairman. He further questioned the propriety of seeking deletions: “Do we not want to run the House according to parliamentary democracy? All records should be kept intact; not a single word should be removed.”

Responding to Kharge’s accusation, Nadda asked the Chair for “protection,” insisting that he had only requested the removal of irrelevant remarks. “I have never bulldozed,” Nadda countered.

The heated back-and-forth became the centrepiece of the Upper House proceedings for the day.

Earlier in the morning, the third day of the Winter Session began with INDIA bloc MPs staging a protest outside Parliament against the implementation of the four Labour Codes. Holding banners that read “No to Corporate Jungle Raj – Yes to Labour Justice,” the MPs alleged that the Codes promote “corporate jungle raj” and undermine workers’ rights.

The ongoing session has also seen Opposition protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the government has urged cooperation inside the House. The Centre has agreed to a discussion on electoral reforms on December 9.