Date:30/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/30/stories/2007103060301200.htm

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Ronen Sen offers unconditional apology

Neena Vyas

Privileges Committee to meet tomorrow

— Photo: PTI/Atul Yadav

‘Directed at media critics’: India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ronen Sen comes out after a meeting at Parliament House in New Delhi on Monday. Appearing before the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, he tendered an apology on his “headless chicken[s]” remarks. He said he referred to critics of the nuclear deal in the media and not Members of Parliament.

NEW DELHI: India’s Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen offered an unqualified and unconditional apology to the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee here on Monday for his “headless chicken[s]” remark relating to the discussion in India related to the India-United States nuclear deal.

The Committee, it is learnt, will now meet on Wednesday to finalise its report that will then be submitted to the Speaker to be placed before the Lok Sabha now expected to meet for the winter session on November 15.

Authoritative sources said that Mr. Sen’s deposition before the Committee lasted 45 minutes and he made it clear that he was offering “no excuses” for the kind of language reportedly used by him as reported in an interview he had given in Washington to a web-based news agency.

Apparently, several members of the Committee pointedly asked him to explain himself. But, “everyone mellowed down after he offered the unconditional apology,” the sources indicated.

Mr. Sen has yet to appear before the Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee scheduled for November 2. The Rajya Sabha Committee will then finalise its own report separately as the issues in the Upper House were somewhat different. In the course of that interview Mr. Sen had allegedly referred to the former External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha and this had become a matter of the MP’s privilege.

Separately, at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee for Parliamentary Affairs it was decided that the winter session should begin on November 15 and end on December 7. This decision would have to be approved by the Cabinet before steps are taken to call the session. It is also learnt that the government had informally consulted the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee about the possible dates for the session. By the time parliament meets the privileges committees of both Houses would have finalised their report for presentation and approval to Parliament.