Janta Dal United (JDU) on Wednesday issued a three-line whip to its party MPs, including Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, to support the party’s stance to vote against the bill to replace ordinance on control of services in Delhi.
The whip to Harivansh, who holds a constitutional post, is being seen as unusual and comes amid “frosty relations” between him and his party. The party had never issued a whip to Harivansh as Deputy Chairman earlier, sources said.
JD(U) chief whip in Rajya Sabha Aneel Prasad Hegde said all party MPs have been asked to support the party stance by voting against the bill to replace ordinance on control of services in Delhi when it is brought before the House.
“Whenever crucial Bills come up for discussion, not only JD(U) but all parties issue whip to their MPs…We have issued a whip to the MPs of our party, that is what we have always done…I will find this out (if Whip was issued to the Deputy Chairman Harivansh on any earlier occasion) but all the MPs of the party have been issued the whip,” he said.
Asked why JD(U) had not issued a whip to Deputy Chairman Harivansh earlier as a party MP, Hedge said he was not a chief whip earlier and will find out details.
P J Kurien, former Deputy Chairman,Rajya Sabha Chairman told ANI that he was never issued a whip by the party during his tenure.
“I was never given a whip by my party to vote in any direction…Since I was in a constitutional post, I was given full freedom to do my duty…Parties do not send whip to the Deputy Chairman as he is the umpire,” P J Kurien told ANI.
A senior JD(U) leader, wishing anonymity, told ANI that the party is unhappy with the way Harivansh has been “warming up” to the BJP-led central goverment.
The JD(U) leader said party had indicated to him to quit the post of Deputy Chairman after JD(U) formed government with RJD in Bihar in August 2022, after severing ties with the BJP-led NDA Government, “but he is still holding the post of Dy Chairman in upper House”.
Janata Dal (United) had slammed Harivansh for attending the inaugural ceremony of the new Parliament building in May against the party’s stance of boycotting the event along with several other opposition parties.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded ‘services’ from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court judgement on the control of services in Delhi.
The three-line whip that has been issued to JD-U MPs is applicable from July 27 to August 11, when the monsoon session of Parliament will conclude.
JD(U) is part of a 26-party opposition alliance which has been named I.N.D.I.A