Opposition urges govt, Speaker to revoke suspension of 8 MPs

Opposition leaders urged the government and Lok Sabha Speaker to revoke the suspension of eight MPs, including seven Congress members and one CPI-M MP, suspended for unruly behaviour during the Budget Session. The government said it would review the matter after consultations

New Delhi: The opposition has urged the government and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to revoke the suspension of seven Congress members and one CPI-M MP who were suspended during the first part of the Budget session for “unruly behaviour”.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, DMK’s Kanimozhi and TMC’s Shatabdi Roy met Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday and called for revoking the suspension of the eight opposition MPs, Congress sources said.

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According to sources, Rijiju assured them that he would take up the matter with the Speaker.

During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on Friday, Congress’ chief whip, K Suresh, again raised the issue with the Speaker and Rijiju, the sources said.

“Rijiju has told the opposition that he would get back to them on the issue after consultations,” a source said.

The issue of suspended MPs remains the only sticking point between the opposition and the government, sources said, adding that the government is also likely to agree to a discussion on the West Asia conflict and its impact on India’s energy security under Rule 193.

In an escalation of the tussle between the government and the opposition, seven Congress members and one CPI-M MP were suspended from the Lok Sabha on February 3 for “unruly behaviour” after they tore papers and threw them at the Chair.

Their suspension from the House for the remaining part of the Budget Session that concludes on April 2 had intensified the face-off with the government over various issues.

The suspended members are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan (CPI-M).

The suspended MPs have been protesting against the government on various issues while sitting on the steps of Parliament’s Makar Dwar. Several opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, have joined them from time to time.