Dhankhar rejects notice of privilege motion against Amit Shah

Jagdeep Dhankhar

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday rejected the notice of privilege motion given by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Congress on  Tuesday gave a notice for breach of privilege against Shah for allegedly casting aspersions on RS member and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi regarding the functioning of PM Relief Fund during his reply on a Bill Tuesday.

According to Indian Express, Ramesh's notice stated that on March 25, while replying to the debate on the Disaster Management Bill, 2024, Shah “had made unfounded allegations against Sonia Gandhi with a premeditated motive to malign her reputation”. “The Home Minister’s statement is blatantly false and is defamatory…” said Ramesh.

Rajya Sabha Chairman rejects notice of privilege motion given by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh against Union Home Minister Amit Shah https://t.co/MrdzabjlmF

ANI (@ANI) March 27, 2025

“I hereby give a notice of question of privilege in terms of Rule 188 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) against Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, for casting aspersions on Sonia Gandhi, member of Rajya Sabha and chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party,” Ramesh said in his notice.

What did Shah say?

 Shah said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesay that the PM Relief Fund was created during Congress rule while the PM CARES was created during NDA rule under PM Narendra Modi. "During Congress rule, one family used to have control. In this, the Congress president used to be the member. The Congress president was in the government fund. What answer will you give to the people? You think no one reads. In our time, the PM, Defence Minister, Home Minister and Defence Minister are there. Tomorrow, if we are not there. It won’t happen. But if we are not there, you will come and sit. We haven’t kept BJP president Nadda ji in it.," he said. 

He also questioned how the fund was used. "The PM Rahat Kosh funds were given to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Who runs it? The Congress and its then president and her family run it. What did we do? We used it for Covid pandemic, oxygen plants, ventilator, help to poor and vaccination. It was done by the BJP government… There was no system earlier, and from their house, they would order. Today, there are records of everything and it is transparent,” Shah told Upper House.