On April 17, 1999, during the discussion on the vote of confidence moved by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, members entered into a heated argument on whether then Orissa CM Giridhar Gamang, who had not quit his Lok Sabha seat, could vote.
It was a simple rule cited by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, RJD leader and a second-term Lok Sabha member, that proved to be the clincher: after the Speaker has put a motion to vote, he said, the voting takes…