New Delhi, Dec 19 – Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday suspended as many as 45 opposition members including senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh from the House for the remainder of the Winter session for their ‘ignoble and grossly disorderly conduct’.
Dhankhar asked the suspended members to leave the precinct of the Council of States forthwith.
The opposition MPs have refused to back off from their demand and have been insisting on a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah over the December 13 Parliament security lapse. The members want the business of the House to be suspended and a discussion on the security breach to be taken up.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman has, however, maintained that the investigation is already on in the security lapse and the House will be apprised once the enquiry is complete.
While naming the members and taking the disciplinary action against them today, the Chairman Dhankhar said that some members had from the start of the day’s proceedings disrupted the House by shouting slogans and even entered the Well of the House.
“Right from start of today’s proceedings, some hon’ble members had disrupted the House by shouting slogans, even entered the Well of the House. The House had to be adjourned twice. Thereby the agenda by the House could not be taken up,” Dhankhar said.
“Hon’ble members may appreciate that Zero Hour submissions and Question hour belong to them to raise matters of public importance and hold government accountable. Despite my repeated requests some hon’ble members continued their act of willful defiance of the directives of the Chair and violation of rules of House.
Due to their ignoble and grossly disorderly conduct I hereby name the following members under Rule 256 of the Rule of Procedures and Conduct of Business in the Council of States,” he said.
Apart from several Congress heavyweights, TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, DMK’s Kanimozhi, NVN Somu and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav have also been suspended.
Besides being suspended from the House for the remaining part of the Winter session, some members’ cases have also been referred to the Committee on Privileges. They include Jebi Mather Hisham, L. Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Binoy Viswam and Kumar Ketkar.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman observed that the members suspended now continuously shouted slogans thus sending very wrong signal. He also took on the leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge for not meeting him and instead writing letters.
“It has never happened in Parliamentary democracy. You don’t believe in dialogue, you don’t believe in discussion, don’t believe in deliberation, don’t believe in debate. You believe in disruption, you believe in disturbance. This cannot be allowed,” Dhankhar said.
Separately, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during the day suspended 33 opposition MPs for their ‘unruly behaviour.’
Opposition MPs in both Houses of Parliament have been protesting against the government over last week’s security breach when two persons carrying smoke canisters jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery.
