Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: Sansad TV
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) gave a notice for breach of privilege against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly casting aspersions on Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi while replying on the Disaster Management Bill, 2024 in the Upper House a day ago.
In his notice filed to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Mr. Ramesh said that on March 25, the Minister stated that the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was created during the Congress rule and the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund was set up during Narendra Modi’s tenure.
“I hereby give a notice of question of privilege in terms of Rule 188 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) against Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, for casting aspersions on Smt Sonia Gandhi, member of Rajya Sabha and chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party,” Mr. Ramesh said in the notice.
He said Mr. Shah during his reply had stated, “During Congress rule, only one family had the control and the Congress president was a member of it. The Congress president was a part of the government fund. What will they reply to the government?”
Mr. Ramesh said as may be seen on perusal of Mr. Shah’s statement, even though the Home Minister did not take the name of Ms. Gandhi, “he had categorically by implication referred to her and imputed motives to her vis-a-vis the functioning of the National Prime Minister’s Relief Fund (NPMRF)“.
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“It is well established that it is breach of privilege and contempt of the House to cast reflections or make derogatory references to any member of the House,” Mr. Ramesh said.
“In the instant case, the Home Minister had made unfounded allegations against Smt. Sonia Gandhi with a premeditated motive to malign her reputation. The Home Minister’s statement is blatantly false and is defamatory. This tantamounts to breach of privilege of Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Hence, this matter constitutes a breach of privilege and the contempt of the House as well,” the Congress chief whip said.
“In view of the foregoing, privilege proceedings may be initiated against Shri Amit Shah, Union Home Minister,” he said.
On Tuesday, defending the PM-CARES fund that was set up during the pandemic, the Home Minister said the money was spent in a transparent manner and a committee comprising Secretary-rank officers and Cabinet Ministers oversees the Trust.
Mr. Shah said the PMNRF constituted during the Congress-rule was controlled by one family.
“This is Parliament, not some street, you cannot shoot and scoot. Congress president used to be a member of PMNRF, which is public fund. Under PM-CARES, Union Ministers are members, if tomorrow we are not there, though unlikely, the Ministers of the day will be members. The BJP president [J.P.] Nadda is not a member of PM-CARES. There was no transparency then. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation run by [former] Congress president [Sonia Gandhi] received funds from PMNRF whereas PM-CARES spent on vaccination, to help the poor during COVID-19,” the Minister said.
Mr. Ramesh had protested against the statement stating that the Minister was misleading the House.
Published – March 26, 2025 08:47 pm IST