Order! Hon members, on Tuesday 18 June 2013, during the First Reading debate on the Appropriations Bill, a point of order was raised when hon Yengeni made her speech on the Bill. The Deputy Chief Whip of the Opposition Party, hon Kalyan, rose on a point of order that the member at the podium had accused the leader of the DA of deliberately misleading the nation and that the expression was unparliamentary. My preliminary ruling was that the leader of the DA was not a member of this House. However, I undertook to study the Hansard and return to the House with a considered ruling.
Having had an opportunity to study the Unrevised Hansard, I wish to rule as follows. According to the Unrevised Hansard, the hon Yengeni said, "The DA of Premier Zille is deliberately misleading the nation with unfounded lies."
Hon Yengeni was referring to the party of Premier Zille as misleading the nation.
Previous rulings on unparliamentary language have held that remarks that would have been regarded as unparliamentary against members of the House were not unparliamentary if made against a political party or people who are not members of this House. The same principle is applicable to hon Yengeni's reference to the party. It is a point of view of the hon member, and not unparliamentary. [Applause.]