Comments
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a motion suspending seven Congress members for the remaining period of the Budget session for their “gross misconduct” after they snatched papers from the Speaker’s table and “utter disregard” for House rules.
Related Stories
Lok Sabha | Speaker Om Birla is saddened by the behaviour of some members, says BJD leader B Mahtab
Around 30 MPs were in the Well of the House shouting slogans and displaying placards.As soon as the House met at 3 PM following an adjournment, Meenakshi Lekhi, who was presiding the House, named Gaurav Gogoi, TN Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Manicka Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Once a member is named by the Chair, he or she cannot attend the House for that day.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi then moved a motion to suspend these members from the House for the remaining period of the Budget session. The motion was passed by a voice vote amid protests by Opposition members.
Lekhi then asked the seven members to leave Lok Sabha chambers immediately and then adjourned the House for the day.
We will not be scared, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
The Congress, on its part said that the suspension of its members from Lok Sabha was a “dictatorial decision” by the government aimed at weakening the Opposition’s voice ahead of a debate over Delhi riots.
Reacting to the development, Congress’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it was a “government decision” and not one taken by the Speaker.
Asserting that the Congress members had done noting wrong, Chowdhury said it was a “dictatorial decision” and one that was motivated by "revenge politics". “We saw revenge politics in House, orders were given by the chairperson to suspend seven Congress MPs for this session,” he said.
Chowdhury alleged that the suspension was an attempt to weaken the party in the House as the government fears a discussion on the Delhi riots in Parliament. “Whether suspending seven MPs is right, people will decide. We will not be scared and will continue to raise the Delhi riots issue,” he said. Gogoi, who was among the suspended MPs, said, “Suspend us for a year, but discuss the Delhi riots and heal the wounds of people.”
“What happened today is a tale of embarrassment in the history of Parliament,” Chowdhury said.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.