TMC's Derek O'Brien among 14 MPs suspended for 'unruly' conduct in Parliament

New Delhi: 14 MPs – 13 from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha – were suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the Winter Session as the Opposition increased the decibel levels demanding accountability over the security breach by two youths a day before.

The government asked the Opposition not to “politicise” the “grave national issue” but the latter insisted on a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah, leading to vociferous protests from the non-BJP bloc that also demanded action against Mysuru MP Pratap Simha who recommended the entry of the two youth into Lok Sabha gallery on Wednesday.

The Lok Sabha MPs who were suspended were: Manickam Tagore, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, T N Prathapan, Ramya Haridas, Dean Kuriakose, VK Sreekandan, Benny Behanan and Mohammed Jawaid, P Natarajan and S Venkatesan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK) and K Subbarayan (CPI). The lone Rajya Sabha MP to be suspended was Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien.

Initially, Lok Sabha had suspended 14 people in two batches, including DMK’s R Parthiban who was not present in the House throughout the day. As the issue snowballed into a controversy, the mistake was rectified with the removal of Parthiban's name from the list of suspended MPs which included nine Congress MPs, two from CPI(M) and one each from DMK and CPI.

Both the Houses witnessed noisy scenes and frequent adjournments during the day, with the Opposition seeking a statement by Shah but the government was unrelenting.

In Lok Sabha as the Opposition raised the issue, Speaker Om Birla said he is ready to again discuss the security breach issue with them. The Opposition wanted an immediate discussion and a statement from the Home Minister on the incident involving two youths who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and lobbed gas canisters.

Deputy Leader of the House and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "all have condemned it. We need to be careful... we should not give passes to those who create disturbances."

In Rajya Sabha, the Opposition were on their feet as soon as the House assembled and rushed into the Well of the House, demanding a discussion on the Parliament security breach. O'Brien too joined the protesting MPs and flung his arms, which infuriated Dhankhar, who named O'Brien and asked him to leave the House.

While Dhankhar described O'Brien's conduct as "defiance" of the Chair and "serious misconduct", the Trinamool MP refused to leave the House, leading to an adjournment till 12 noon. When the House re-assembled, O'Brien was still in the House and refused to leave, prompting the Chairman to allow Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to motion to suspend O'Brien under Rule 256, which was adopted by a voice vote.

The afternoon session saw more adjournments as O'Brien was asked to "immediately leave the precincts" of the Rajya Sabha. Dhankhar said O'Brien's refusal to comply with the decision of the House and the direction imparted is a severe violation of the rules of procedure and "amounts to wilful contempt of the House".

At this point, Goyal moved another motion to refer the matter relating to O'Brien's conduct to the Committee of Privileges as it was a "serious contempt of the House" and breach of privilege, which was adopted. As O'Brien refused to leave, the House was adjourned for the day. O'Brien sat on a silent protest in Parliament premises later.