LS speaker suspends AIADMK and TDP members

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday suspended three AIADMK members and one TDP lawmaker for two days for disrupting the proceedings of the House.

AIADMK members K N Ramachandran, P Venugopal and K Gopal were protesting over the proposed construction of a dam on the Cauvery river while TDP member Naramalli Sivaprasad, whose party has been raising the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh, played a Tamil song in the House before the speaker suspended them from the Lok Sabha.

Sivaprasad, who dressed like former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M G Ramachandran and held a whip in his hand, was also seen playing Khartal, a percussion instrument used for devotional songs. Earlier during the Question Hour in the morning, he walked into the Well and sought to flog himself with the whip.

“You have come to the Well of the House and you are abusing the rules of the House by persistently and willfully obstructing the business of the House. By your willful and persistent obstruction, a grave disorder is being occasioned. I am, therefore, constrained to name you under Rule 374A. Therefore, you stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for two days in terms of provision of Rule 374A,” Mahajan said.

AIADMK member and deputy speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai later urged the speaker to respect “the feelings of the Tamil Nadu people” and also withdraw the suspension of his party members.

He also urged the speaker to reconsider her order for suspension of the TDP member.

He defended his party members' agitation on the floor of the House, asking how can the central government give permissions to the Karnataka government for the construction of the proposed dam on Cauvery when the Supreme Court has said it can not be done without consultation.

“That is the issue. It is the Supreme Court decision. Therefore, our members agitated and raised this issue. Let the government come forward with an assurance for the withdrawal of DPR or instruction, otherwise, Tamil Nadu will suffer a lot,” he added.

Mahajan, however, appeared to remain unconvinced with Thambidurai's arguments. “I can understand but there are ways to discuss. This is not the way to come in the Well,” she said, responding to Thambidurai.

Last week, the speaker had suspended 24 AIADMK members on Wednesday for five consecutive sittings for disrupting the proceedings of the House.