As the looming spectre of a wasted winter session haunts Parliament, Vice President Hamid Ansari has asked for more powers to deal with disruptive and errant members of parliament. The Vice President is the Ex-Officio Chairman of the Upper House but does not enjoy the same disciplinary powers as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.



On Thursday, he asked the Rules Committee of Parliament to allow the presiding officer to throw out members who are disrupting proceedings in the Rajya Sabha. The speaker of the Lok Sabha already enjoys these powers.

Ansari had earlier come under criticism for not having enough control over proceedings.