Parliamentary Report
development options, it also marks the end of the technol- ogy-denial regimes, which have restricted India for over three decades.
The Minister assured that
the government will never compromise on India’s inde- pendent foreign policy which will be determined at all times by the assessment of India’s national interest. He asserted that the initia-
tive in no way constrains India’s ability to pursue an independent foreign policy or in any way affect its strategic autonomy; in fact it has increased foreign policy
options.This initiative creates more space for India to pur- sue a foreign policy which serves its national interest. Several Members raised questions with regard to privilege against the Prime Minister alleging that the
Prime Minister, in his reply to the motion of confidence on 22 July, had inter alia stated the nuclear agreement after being endorsed by the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group would be submitted to the House for expressing its view.
The Prime Minister had
asked the Members of the left parties to allow the gov- ernment to go through the negotiating process before operationalizing the nuclear agreement. Members con- tended that the Prime Minis- ter had violated the assur- ance made by him to Parlia- ment which amounts to a breach of privilege and con- tempt of the House. The Speaker, in his ruling
given on 24 October observed that the Prime Min- ister is a Member of the House and as per the estab-
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Correction of report
SUSPENSION OF MEMBER IN TRINIDAD
Opposition leader Hon. Bas- deo Panday was suspended from the service of the House
a decision of Speaker Hon. Barendra Sinanan, was decided by the House on 28 March 2008 after Mr Panday was questioned by the Speak- er over his use of a laptop in the chamber.
Hon. Basdeo Panday
of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year by the House itself, not by the Speaker of the House as previ- ously reported. The suspension, which was
incorrectly reported in Issue Two of The Parliamentarian as
In the absence of a specific standing order governing the use of laptops and other elec- tronic devices in the chamber, the Speaker had earlier advised Members that laptops could be used if needed for business of the House and if they sought the Speaker’s per- mission in
advance.This would permit Members to have access to electronic versions of such files as notes for speeches they would be giving in the House. Mr Panday and a govern- ment Minister, Mr Gary Hunt, both had laptops operating on the day the opposition leader was sus- pended. The Speaker first
When Mr Panday refused Hon. Barendra Sinanan
asked the Minister if he was using his laptop for the day’s business and the Minister replied to the Speaker’s ques- tion and closed his laptop. The Speaker then asked Mr
Panday about his use of his laptop. Mr Panday first did not answer and then said usage depended on what was said by government Members. After some interchanges on the floor, the Speaker suspended Mr Panday for the day.
to leave, the Speaker called on a government Minister to move that the House sus- pend him for an indefinite period as provided in the standing orders. This was duly moved and the House voted to suspend Mr Panday by a majority of 23 to 11, with opposition Members voting against. An indefinite suspension normal- ly lasts a few sitting days and is ended by a resolution of the House. However, Mr Panday still did not leave the chamber, making recourse to force necessary to cause him to leave and automatically invoking the standing order provision that suspends a Member for the remainder of the session. The current ses- sion was to end on 16 December if not prorogued prior to that date.
The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue Four 375 lished practice “neither
House of Parliament can claim or exercise any author- ity over a member of the other House. Consequently, neither House can take upon itself to punish any breach of privilege or contempt offered to it by a Member or officer of the other House”. It is also established proce-
dure that “when a question of breach of privilege or con- tempt of the House is raised in either House in which a Member, officer or servant of the other House is involved, the procedure followed is that the Presiding Officer of the House in which the ques- tion of privilege is raised, refers the case to the Presid- ing Officer of the other House, only if he is satisfied on hearing the Member who raises the question or perus- ing any document where the
complaint is based on a doc- ument that a breach of privi- lege has been committed”. Since the Prime Minister is a Member of the other House, before referring the matter to the Presiding Officer of the other House, the Speaker wanted to be satisfied that a breach of privilege has been committed. Accordingly,he heard one of the Members who had given identical notices and after going through the contents of the Prime Minister’s speech, the Speaker disallowed the notices of privilege as in his view, no breach of privilege was committed by the Prime Minister and as per the estab- lished practice non-implemen- tation of an assurance given by a Minister on the floor of the House is neither a breach of privilege nor a contempt of the House.
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