Pepper spray incident referred to Lok Sabha’s Privileges panel

K. R. Srivats Updated - February 16, 2014 at 10:12 PM.

Congress, BJP to discuss economic agenda at CII meet today

MPs coming out of the Lok Sabha on Febraury 13 after the pepper spray attack.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has referred the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha to the Committee of Privileges for examination and report.

The Privileges Committee of Lok Sabha, which is headed by PC Chacko, has powers to recommend punitive measures including imprisonment and even expulsion.

Frisking issue
This committee will also consider whether Members of Parliament should be frisked for security purposes before entering the two Houses.

Soon after the pepper spray incident on February 13, the Lok Sabha speaker had named 16 members who stood automatically suspended from the service of the lower House for five consecutive sittings – (February 13, 17,18,19 and 20).

It will not only be the Vote-on-account that will catch the attention of economy watchers on Monday.

Both the Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will separately use the Confederation of Indian Industry’s platform on Monday to discuss their party’s economic agenda for the five-year period post the coming general elections.

CII platform While Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will interact with CII National Council members on behalf of the Congress party, Piyush Goyal, National Treasurer of the BJP, will do so on behalf of his party.

This could provide a glimpse of the economic agenda that is in store for the country in the next five years.

>srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in

Published on February 16, 2014 14:16