Seven Congress MPs and one Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) member were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session, which ends on April 2.
NEW DELHI — The Lok Sabha suspended eight opposition MPs on Tuesday for “disrupting” the House proceedings and throwing papers towards the Chair for the remainder of the Budget Session.
This came amid escalating confrontations between the government and the Opposition over multiple issues, including Rahul Gandhi being denied permission to cite excerpts from former army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir on the 2020 India-China conflict and sharp criticism of the Centre over newly announced India-US and EU trade deals.
The suspended MPs — Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, and Dean Kuriakose — are from the Congress party and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M).
Seven Congress MPs and one Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) member were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session, which ends on April 2.
When the House met at 3 pm after multiple adjournments on Tuesday, Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named the eight members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then moved a resolution seeking their suspension for the rest of the session, which was passed by a voice vote before proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar.
Moving the resolution, Rijiju said the members had acted in utter disregard of the House and the authority of the Chair, alleging that they tore papers, tried to climb on to the table of the Secretary General and hurled documents at the presiding officer.
Earlier, for the second consecutive day, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday raised the Ladakh standoff issue, despite repeated objections from the Chair to only present “authentic sources”.
The Lok Sabha saw a heated exchange as the opposition MPs continued to accuse the Centre of “misleading” the House on the India-China issue.
Gandhi has been raising the Ladakh standoff issue while quoting from a magazine article linked to an “unpublished book” of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
Even after the Chair issued a ruling stating that no one can quote a news article or magazine, citing Parliamentary rules, the LoP remained adamant about raising the issue.
Congress members led by Rahul Gandhi staged a protest outside Parliament against the suspensions, while other Opposition MPs said the suspended legislators would continue to demonstrate in the precincts.
The Lok Sabha has witnessed repeated disruptions since Monday after Gandhi was disallowed from referring to an article based on excerpts from Naravane’s unpublished book on the 2020 standoff with China.
Stepping up its attack on the government over trade negotiations with the United States and the European Union, Congress demanded that Parliament be taken into confidence on the details of the agreements.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said clarity was needed as only President Trump’s statements and posts were available so far.
He questioned claims that India would purchase USD 500 billion worth of US goods and open its agricultural markets, arguing that such figures carried “very significant political implications for India’s farmers.” — With inputs from PTI
