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Decision on privilege motion soon: Speaker

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has said he will take a decision soon on the privilege motion against Indian envoy to the U.S. Ronen Sen, in connection with his purported remark equating MPs with “headless chicken[s].”

Mr. Chatterjee said he had received the replies (from Mr. Sen and Ministry of External Affairs) but had not been able to go through them.

“I will take a decision soon,” the Speaker told the House when members of the Left parties asked about it.

The matter was apparently raised following newspaper reports that Mr. Sen had offered a “sincere and unqualified apology” in response to a privilege notice given by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

He was given the notice after members from most of the non-Congress parties slammed him for his reported “derogatory” remark in connection with the controversy over the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal.

Many of them demanded the Ambassador’s immediate recall and his presentation before the Bar of the House so that he could be reprimanded.

The Ambassador subsequently clarified the remarks attributed to him in an interview along with the apology.

The MEA also gave its response to the notice, reportedly suggesting that the matter be treated as closed as Mr. Sen had apologised, newspaper reports said.

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