New Delhi: Nineteen opposition MPs were suspended Tuesday from Rajya Sabha for the rest of the week for disrupting the session. The suspended Rajya Sabha MPs are: Sushmita Dev, Mausam Noor, Shanta Chhetri, Dola Sen, Santanu Sen, Abhi Ranjan Biswar, Md Nadimul Haque (all Trinamool Congress), M Hamamed Abdulla, R Girranjan, S Kalyanasundaram, M Shanmugam, Kanimozhi NVN Somu and NR Elango (all DMK) B Lingaiah Yadav, Ravihandra Vaddiraju and Damodar Rao Divakonda (all Telangana Rashtra Samithi), AA Rahim and V Sivadasn {both CPI(M)}, Sandosh Kumar P (CPI)
“The decision to suspend Opposition MPs from Rajya Sabha was taken with a heavy heart. They kept on ignoring the Chairman’s appeals,” BJP’s Piyush Goyal said. “The government is ready for a debate on price rise once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovers and returns to Parliament,” Goyal who is the leader of the house in Rajya Sabha, added.
The latest round of suspension comes a day after four Congress MPs in Lok Sabha were dealt with similar action for the entire Monsoon Session, ending August 12. They were suspended for holding placards inside the house despite warnings by Speaker Om Birla to behave.
Also read: 4 MPs suspended for entire Monsoon Session, Congress cries foul
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for an hour Tuesday after the suspended Opposition MPs did not leave and continued to protest. The action against the 19 Rajya Sabha MPs would likely escalate the Opposition’s fury against the government over what they claim is an attempt to shut voices that question the ruling alliance’s economic and social policies.
Goyal meanwhile asserted that it is not the government but the Opposition that is running away from a debate in Parliament. These members infringed on the rights of other MPs who wanted the House to function, Goyal told reporters and appealed to the Opposition to participate in parliamentary proceedings.
Meanwhile the Communist Party of India (CPI) hit out Tuesday at the government over the suspension of 19 MPs from Rajya Sabha. It alleged that the BJP-led dispensation was trying to ‘evade’ critical issues. “Suspension of Rajya Sabha, including CPI MP, P Santhosh Kumar, for demanding a discussion on inflation & imposition of GST on essential goods is unfortunate. Critical issues are being evaded. Government wants to run the Parliament without any accountability to the people & opposition,” tweeted CPI general secretary D Raja.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also lashed out Tuesday at the Narendra Modi government over the suspension of Rajya Sabha members. It alleged that the government had turned Parliament into a ‘deep, dark chamber’.
“Democracy has been suspended in India. Parliament has been turned into a deep, dark chamber,” TMC leader Derek O’Brien told reporters here.
O’Brien, the leader of the TMC in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that Prime Minister Modi is ‘afraid’ of Parliament. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of Parliament. I ask him to come and answer one question in Parliament,” he said.
The TMC leader alleged that the prime minister came to Parliament every Thursday for half-an-hour and treated it as the ‘Gujarat gymkhana’.
