DHARAMSHALA, March 19: The ninth session of the 15th Tibetan parliament in exile saw a brief uproar on Thursday morning as the Speaker staged a walk out and said he had no other alternative but to resign after a member alleged there were sitting members who have charges of corruption, embezzlement and murder against them.
Speaker Penpa Tsering, who said those charges were being leveled against him, subsequently withdrew his resignation on the behest of the Kashag (Cabinet of Ministers) and parliamentarians during the afternoon session which was not broadcast to the public, according to sources in the parliament.
Earlier in the day, the Speaker, before staging the walk out, said he would challenge the concerned member if he made such allegations outside the house, as members have immunity to legal backlash for their comments within the house.
Thursday’s uproar in the parliament was triggered after some members demanded an explanation from the Speaker over the use of his power on Wednesday to delete the Tibetan words referring to ‘murder’, ‘corruption’ and ‘embezzlement’ from the parliament’s record. These words had been used by a member in a question related to the budget for the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission. To this, the Speaker explained that the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission is not entitled by the law of the land to take up cases related to criminal offence and as such, had ordered the removal of these words from the parliament’s record.
Another member questioned why the Speaker had not used his power to remove these immediately, to which the Speaker said that it had been brought to his notice by the Kashag only minutes before the parliament session resumed from recess on Wednesday.
The latest developments on Thursday followed controversial remarks by a parliamentarian. The member, while making a point during a discussion, had alleged that there were sitting members of the parliament who have charges of corruption, embezzlement and murder against them. The member had further explained that his allegations of murder were in reference to a similar allegation made by another member during the 13th Assembly.
At the time, the then-Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche had proposed Penpa Tsering’s name as his nomination for the position of a minister. However, at the time, a member of house had objected to Penpa Tsering’s nomination; consequently, as per the requirements of the Tibetan charter, a voting was carried out in the house which eventually prevented him from becoming a Kalon.
