Ronen referred to Privileges committee

JYOTI MALHOTRA

New Delhi, September 1, 2007 : India’s ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen, may find himself in a thicker soup than he anticipated over his ``headless chicken’’ remarks, with Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee referring the matter to the Privileges Committee of Parliament on Friday.

This is the first time ever that an ambassador of India, whether career diplomat or political appointee, has become a subject of interest for the Privileges committee, which is tasked with maintaining decorum and propriety of all members of parliament.

In the middle of the stormy debate sparked off by the civilian nuclear deal, ambassador Sen had been quoted as saying in an interview : ``Why do you have all this running around like headless chickens, looking for a comment here or comment there, and these little storms in a tea-cup.’’

As Parliament erupted in dismay, Sen offered an ``unqualified apology’’ for his ``tactless remarks,’’ saying he had never referred to MPs, but to his media friends.

But parliamentarians across the ideological divide, BJP MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra and CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta were unmoved, moving privilege notices against Sen last week.

Apart from the ``headless chickens’’ comment, Sen had also commented on the nuclear deal even before it had been debated in the House, further exacerbating the situation, several MPs said.

Whether or not Sen will now be summoned to the parliamentary bar will be up to the 15-member Privileges committee to decide. Alternatively, the committee could close the matter if it felt the ambassador was truly sorry.

But the fact that the Speaker has decided to pursue the matter, even after receiving a reply from the Ministry of External Affairs last week, attests to the seriousness of the matter.

The Lok Sabha secretariat had written to the MEA seeking clarification of Sen’s remarks in an interview with a website, and the MEA had sent the case file quickly back, along with an unqualified apology by ambassador Sen.

ENDS