New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday broke down as he spoke about Tuesday's ruckus by Opposition members in the House when some MPs climbed the tables and some sat and disrupted the House proceedings.
Naidu condemned the act of the members and said that there are means and ways to raise voices but this is not the way and it is not permissible in the democracy and he said he could not sleep in the night.
Referring to Tuesday's events, Naidu said Parliament, the apex legislature of the country, is regarded as the "temple of democracy".
Naidu said, the Chair and the area around the parliamentary reporters and Secretary General chair is considered sanctum sanctorum of the House and "the all sacredness of this House was destroyed yesterday when some members sat on the tables and some climbed on the tables in the House."
A certain degree of sacredness is attached to this place, Naidu said, and added in temples, devotees are allowed only up to this sanctum sanctorum and not beyond.
"I am distressed by the way this sacredness has been destroyed yesterday. While some members sat on the Table, some others climbed on the Table of the House, perhaps to be more visible with acts of sacrilege. I have no words to convey my anguish and to condemn such acts," the Chairman said.
Naidu further said he "spent a sleepless night last night".
As he was making the remarks, several opposition party MPs trooped in the Well of the House and started sloganeering over various issues.
On Tuesday, some MPs from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) climbed the reporters' table in front of the Chair during a discussion on agriculture issues in the Rajya Sabha.
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and Pratap Singh Bajwa of the Congress were seen standing on the table in the video that was circulated in the social media, on which the Chairman has taken serious note.
The opposition MPs raised slogans and said that the relevant notices have not been taken care of. They accused the government of 'hiding' and avoiding discussion on the farmers agitation.
The government is mulling action on the MPs and had a meeting with the chairman on the issue.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Presiding officers in Parliament are supposed to be neutral umpires, not partisan players. They cannot present a totally one-sided picture of goings on in the House and further aggravate the situation. Misplaced emotion leads to commotion."
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)