TMC moves privilege motion against Gogoi for remarks made to NDTV

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress today moved a privilege motion in the Parliament against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi over his remarks made in an interview with NDTV where he said it is upon him to decide when he should be attending the Rajya Sabha.

Submitting the notice, Trinamool Congress said that that the remarks made by the former CJI and present Rajya Sabha member were amount to undermining the dignity of the house and constituting a breach of privilege.

Responding to a question on his poor attendance in the Rajya Sabha, he said that he did not feel comfortable attending the Rajya Sabha while there was a norm enforced to observe social distancing.

"The sitting arrangements I don't find very comfortable. I go to the RS when I feel like when I think there are matters of importance on which I should speak. I am a nominated member, not governed by any party whip," he said as an answer to the question.

Besides, he also defended his no presence in the Parliament by saying that he would have been better off had he taken the role of chairman of a tribunal. He added that he is not receiving any penny from Rajya Sabha.

In his just-published memoir, Justice Gogoi had defended his decision to join the Rajya Sabha four months after retiring from the Supreme Court, a move that had come in for widespread criticism.