National Council Chairperson responds!

The eviction of the Member of Parliament from Gasa, Dorji Khandu from the National Assembly was the topic of conversation by the time yesterday's National Council session ended.

The Pay Structure Reform Bill was on the agenda for discussion. When the member was given the opportunity to speak on Section 16 - Communication allowance. Dorji Khandu began his submission on Section 14 - Housing allowance. The Chairperson intervened, and when he refused to seat as directed, he was asked to leave the Hall. Soon after suspended for two days to maintain decorum in the Upper house.

This is the first time an elected member of Parliament has been asked to leave. It's partly because the people witnessing the proceedings weren't used to it. The incident drew in viewers who might not have watched otherwise. It even drew the attention of critics, meme creators and cynics, who were ready with their inventiveness to make light of the situation.

Many people had already made up their minds on who was right or wrong, or why and how the Chairperson may halt or remove a member in the middle of a session. As a result, both parties involved have come forward to explain what happened in order to quell the online rage.

Courtesy: National Council of Bhutan

National Council’s (NC) chairperson, Tashi Dorji said that it’s his responsibility as a chairperson of the upper house to maintain discipline and decorum during the sitting session. Thus he ordered the Gasa NC member, Dorji Khandu to leave the house immediately.

The NC Chairperson also said, “I sensed that the Gasa NC member was blaming the rest of the NC members for not supporting his suggestion on increasing housing allowance as he mentioned that he’s surprised at the people’s representative from the twenty Dzongkhag. It could have led to the chaotic situation in the house if I didn’t try to stop him. And I assume that the other NC members remained silent as they are aware that there’s no way to increase the housing allowance as discussed during the internal meetings with the related stakeholders. I’m sure it doesn’t mean that they don’t support the idea.”

“People might also misunderstand that the chairperson is restricting the NC members from speaking in the house. I tried to stop Gasa NC because he was pointing fingers at the rest of the members of the house. I was trying to maintain the decorum of the house and set exemplary ethics for the future chairperson where manner and discipline are observed.”

“Although I regret what happened yesterday during the deliberation of the pay structure reform bill 2022, I feel that I am not wrong as a chairperson to show the door or suspend the Gasa NC member,” added the chairperson.

He also said that it’s important to discuss issues but one member's interest cannot be adopted as a bill without the support of the majority of members in the house.