House Speaker warns MPs about criticising rulings in media

Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir on Thursday cautioned Members of Parliament (MPs) that there was a well-laid-out procedure which must be followed if there was any question in relation to a ruling by the Speaker.
Before the commencement of the 2020 Budget Debate Thursday morning, Speaker Nadir, who himself has been a MP for well over two decades, asserted that “criticism of rulings of the Speaker is not allowed”.

He cited Standing Order 46 which speaks to this; adding, “If there is a question with respect to a ruling of the Speaker, there is a procedure to follow and that ruling could be fully ventilated in the House, and not in the media.”
The Speaker also had cause to remind MPs of his statement two days ago in which he urged that an offensive social media post by an Opposition MP in relation to persons being food poisoned be taken down.
“That post is still up on social media and on his page and I am asking the Whips to speak to their members.
“I expect that after this announcement with respect to that social media post, there will be positive action on behalf of the Member,” the Speaker urged.
On Tuesday, Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian Sherod Duncan posted to Facebook that: “Several APNU+AFC MPs may have been food poisoned by food prepared by Parliament’s caterer(s). Developing story.”
But Speaker Nadir explained that other parliamentarians as well as parliamentary staff have reported digestion issues after consuming the meals which were prepared by the caterers contracted by the Parliament Office.
According to the Speaker, breach of privileges is a serious offence “and while we do exercise fairness, patience and impartiality, we have to be guided by the rules that exist”.
Speaker Nadir explained that he was also guided by “one of the most respected Clerks in the Commonwealth, supported by parliamentary staff whom I know have been serving Parliament and the people for decades”.

Speaker tells MPs words such as “shut up”, “shut your mouth” not allowed in House
On Thursday, he also had cause to remind parliamentarians that certain words such as “shut up” and “shut your mouth” are considered unparliamentary and hence were not allowed in the National Assembly.
“As we continue to debate and hear from many new members of the Assembly, I want to remind them and us, that certain language is unparliamentary; for example, ‘shut up’, ‘shut your mouth’, ‘lie’ and imputing motives on behalf of another member of the House.
“All of these are well-captured in the parliamentary handbook (pg 67) and in several other Standing Orders,” the Speaker advised prior to the commencement of day four of the Budget 2020 debate.
Nadir further explained that “displays in the House are not permitted”, based from several rulings by Speakers that go back many years.