The recent news of BSP’s chief Mayawati’s resignation has taken the social media by storm. A resignation letter was sent to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha few hours after she was dismissed to speak beyond 3 minutes during the session by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The letter submitted had a long story citing the reason for resignation and copies were widely circulated to the public. Before the news of the acceptance of her resignation, many were of the opinion that the resignation will likely be rejected due to it not following the proper procedure.
The Procedure
The resignation of a Member of Parliament, either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, is dealt by “The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha” and “The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha” respectively. While Rule 240 provides for it in the former, Rule 213 provides for it in the latter.
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STEPS
1. Should be in writing – Both the houses require a resignation to be written by the member under his hand and address it to the Chairman/Speaker.
2. Genuine and Voluntary – It shall be informed to the Chairman/Speaker that the resignation is genuine and voluntary by the member while submitting his/her resignation.
3. Acceptance – Upon satisfying that the resignation is genuine and voluntary, the Chairman/Speaker may accept the resignation.
4. Difference – The key difference, however, between the rules of both the houses is that the Rules of Lok Sabha lays down a prescribed format for the resignation and specifically states that the member shall not give any reason for his/her resignation. The Rules of Rajya Sabha do not specifically mention any such procedure.
5. Withdrawal – The member of either of the houses can withdraw their resignation anytime before it is accepted.
Resignations Rejected In The Past
In the past, the resignations of various Members of Parliament have been rejected on procedural grounds. In 2006, Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned as the Member of Lok Sabha on moral grounds after he was convicted in the road rage incident case against him. His resignation was rejected due to it citing reasons and not following the prescribed format of Rule 240.
Last year, Vijay Mallya’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha was rejected on procedural grounds as well. Ethics committee rejected it stating that the resignation was not voluntary and genuine.
In the case of Mayawati, though her resignation has been accepted, it can be agreed that a conditional resignation is not a proper way to go for it.
Image credits: Google Images
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