8 MPs Sent Out for Remainder of Budget Session
Action was taken for "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference about the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020
New Delhi: Hardening its stand against the Opposition, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday suspended eight Members of Parliament accusing them of 'unruly behaviour' after they tore papers and threw them at the Chair.
The suspended members are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole, Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Venkatesan (CPI-M). They have been suspended from the House for the remaining part of the Budget Session that concludes on April 2.
The Opposition vowed to intensify the face-off with the government over various issues, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi being denied an opportunity to cite an article based on excerpts from an unpublished 'memoir' of former Army chief M.M. Naravane on India-China conflict of 2020.
The Opposition also raised concerns about American President Donald Trump announcing the India-US trade deal and the alleged demolition drive at the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.
Though the House remain disrupted since morning, at 3 pm when it reconvened, Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named the eight Congress members. Subsequently, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju read out a resolution seeking suspension of the eight members for the remaining period of the Budget session.
Moving the resolution seeking their suspension, Rijiju said the members acted in utter disregard to the House and the authority of the Chair. They also tore papers and them on the Chair and were named by the Chair for their behaviour, the minister added.
He alleged the suspended had also tried to climb on to the table of the Secretary General, tore papers and threw them at the Chair. The House passed the resolution by a voice vote, following which the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar.
Later, Congress members, led by Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest outside Parliament building against the suspension of party members. Opposition MPs said the suspended members will continue to protest outside the House for the entire session.
"Modi ji is rattled. The (US-India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji's image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised. The public needs to think about this. For the first time, the LoP was not allowed to speak on the President's speech. Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country. Narendra Modi ji is scared because those who shaped his image are now breaking this image....There is a case on Adani ji in the US, it is actually a case on Modi ji....The Epstein Files contain even more that the US has not yet released. There is pressure due to that as well. These are the two pressure points. The country should understand this," Rahul Gandhi said outside the Parliament.
In the House, Mr Gandhi tried to raise the Galwan incident mentioned in Gen Naravane’s memoir in different ways but was not allowed. The chair told him to focus his speech only on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. With Mr Gandhi insisting on speaking on the subject, the chair called other MPs to speak. None of the Opposition MPs spoke after which the chair called NDA MPs to speak. It was then that the Opposition MPs came to the Well in protest, shouted slogans and tore papers. They again tore papers when there suspension was announced.
