MR. SPEAKER: Prof. please sit down.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Now, how shamelessly you are laughing when I am going to reply. There is a limit to it.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: I fully respect the sentiments expressed here. The factual position is this.

We have a National Celebration Committee headed by the Prime Minister. The Working President of this Committee, I think, is the Minister of Human Resource Development and the whole matter, as to how it should be celebrated, was discussed in the National Committee. I do not have the list of all the Members of the Committee but I believe, if not all, quite a few Chief Ministers are also there as Members of this Committee. Everything was discussed there.

... (Interruptions)

Now, somebody should go and tell that the people in the Lobby should not laugh that loud.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Please, I am telling you the fact.

I was not present in the Meeting. I was only reported that after a lot of discussion in the National Celebration Committee it was decided that while we acknowledge, we respect all those leaders who were responsible for achieving Independence - we have a galaxy of patriotic leaders of the national movement, like Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, Dr. Rajendra Prasad - and their names taken.

... (Interruptions)

SHRI T. NAGARATNAM (SRIPERUMBUDUR): Sir, the names of the late C.Rajagopalachari, Subramaniam Bhartiya ... (Interruptions) Kamraj and others were not mentioned ... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Can you not listen to me?

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: It seems that you do not want an explanation.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: If the Speaker of the House cannot speak in this Parliament, then where are we?

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Where are we sitting? Even the Speaker is not allowed to speak! Then you do whatever you want.

... (Interruptions)

SHRI PRITHVIRAJ D. CHAVAN (KARAD): Please listen to the Chair.

SHRI S.S. PALANIMANICKAM (THANJAVUR): We know how to behave in the Parliament ... (Interruptions) Please do not teach us ethics ... (Interruptions)

SHRI TIRUCHI SIVA (PUDUKKOTTAI): Sir, we do not want anything; at least their names should be taken ... (Interruptions) Nobody has mentioned the names of Subramaniam Siva, V.O.Chidambaram Pillai, Subramaniam Bhartiya ... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: We respect all the leaders. It is not possible for me to take the names of all of them. I am just giving an illustration and that does not mean that I am not recognising them or the country is not recognising them. As an illustration, I am saying as to what has been discussed in the National Celebration Committee.

I was reported that after a lot of discussion, the decision of the National Committee was that the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru would be played for four minutes each or something like that. That was the final decision.

Then the matter was raised in this very House saying that why the speeches of only two leaders, why should the speech of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose also not be included? If you remember, the whole House welcomed that suggestion. At that time nobody gave any other name.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Please bear with me. So, taking the sentiments of the whole House into consideration, I very sincerely called a meeting to discuss about the decision of the National Committee. I said that this is the decision of the National Committee but then the whole House has expressed their views on this. In the first meeting - it was not an official meeting of the National Committee, I called relevant people - they said that it would not be possible to include it as it was too late. I conveyed it to Mrs. Krishna Bose and, of course, she was upset. Then, in one of the meetings, I think it was the first of the meetings with the political parties that I had in this Session, the question was raised again. The Prime Minister himself was present in that meeting. I conveyed that the National Committee felt that it would not be feasible at that stage to include a third speech because everything had been set and programmes had been printed. Then, in that meeting, everybody said with all sincerity, including the hon. Prime Minister, that the sentiments of the whole House should be respected and, if possible, it should be done. I summoned the Minister of Human Resource Development to the meeting. I suggested that we should take up some other business and wait till the Minister of Human Resource Development came. He came to the meeting. There, it was the decision of all political parties.

This is the actual and factual position of the case. While I respect everybody's sentiments, I am afraid, at this last moment, he may not be able to make a change and I apologise for that.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: Let me apologise for that.

... (Interruptions)

MR. SPEAKER: I have reported as it had happened.

... (Interruptions)