NEW DELHI, MAY 4: JD(U) president Sharad Yadav has termed as “wrong” the decision of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to refer cases of “disorderly conduct” of 32 members to the Privileges Committee.

Talking to The Indian Express, Yadav said, “The Privileges Committee is not a disciplinary action committee and referring these cases to the committee makes no sense.”

“Parliament,” he maintained, “is not a government department which has to be run according to stiff rules”. He said it was a representative body of various parties and the presiding officer had to adopt a consensual approach and conduct proceedings through political management.

Regarding turmoil in the House, Yadav said: “It is inevitable and why would it not be there? The present mode of working of Indian Parliament is a manifestation of its evolution. Turmoil has been an integral part of parliamentary working from the very beginning.”

Yadav said it was true that sometimes unpleasant scenes are seen in the House, but these would not be strange to a veteran member like Chatterjee.

He said a new change had taken place in the polity in recent times. Many regional parties have sprung up all over the country and these parties have their representatives in Parliament too. Since regional satraps running these parties are outside Parliament, their members have to work according to the directives of their party bosses. “This ongoing political process has to be understood,” he added.

Meanwhile, the NDA is all set to up the ante against Chatterjee. “We are angry, upset, and bewildered at the turn of events,” said a leading BJP MP. Party MP Shahnawaz Hussain said he was willing to pay “any price” for the “raising the price rise issue”. “Had not the Left too raised the issue in a similar manner earlier?” he asked.

“The NDA leaders are meeting on Monday. We will discuss the strategy to be adopted,” said senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj.