Rajya Sabha faces disruptions over opposition to MPs' suspension

Opposition floor leaders claimed the move was directed at reducing their numbers so that the BJP could easily pass bills

Disruptive events dominated Rajya Sabha proceedings on Wednesday as Opposition MPs protested the denial of their demand to revoke the suspension of 12 lawmakers, who began their sit-in protest at the Gandhi Statue in Parliament complex.

The 12 suspended MPs were joined by their colleagues from the opposition benches in expressing solidarity, before proceedings began in Parliament in the morning with the issue echoing in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Opposition floor leaders, following a meeting chaired by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, decided to raise the issue in Parliament during the day and force the government to reverse the decision to suspend the MPs.

Also Read — Opposition parties stage protest in Parliament complex against suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs

Sources said leaders decided that they should not "meekly surrender" and voice their protest vociferously in both the Houses accordingly during the day in solidarity with the protesting MPs.

While a section of the Opposition staged a walk-out in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments throughout the day after the Chair refused to give Kharge a chance to raise the issue of suspension. This led to sloganeering by the Opposition at repeated intervals.

As soon as Rajya Sabha assembled and after Kerala Congress' Jose K Mani took the oath and official papers tabled, Kharge rose to his feet raising the issue but Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused to allow him saying, "coming to the well of the House, climbing on the table, throwing papers, snatching papers from the minister and also challenging the Chair... doing everything which is unparliamentary, undemocratic and they have no remorse. What can we do?"

"...crores of rupees are spent on this House and people are getting dismayed at what is happening in this House," he said, adjourning the House till noon.

Similar scenes were witnessed at noon and 2 pm, when the House reassembled. Finally, the House adjourned for the day a little after 3 pm although Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat introduced the Dam Safety Bill

At the protest site, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge (Congress), Sougata Roy (Trinamool), Supriya Sule (NCP), TR Baalu (DMK), NK Premachandran (RSP) and Thol Thirumavalavan (VCK), among others, expressed solidarity with the protesters.

Also Read — Wary of isolation, Trinamool Congress changes tack, joins protest against suspension of MPs

Congress Rajya Sabha whip Syed Nasir Hussain, one of the 12 suspended MPs, said that an apology is out of the question, as the government has "scant respect" for the democratic process and traditions in the country. "Do you think we need to apologise to the government for asking questions, seeking time for a debate? This government has to apologise because of its dictatorial attitude. We have reached this impasse. The government has to say sorry to people as they are the people who are not allowing democracy to function in this country," he said.

Congress MP Chhaya Verma, who is also among the suspended MPs, said the government had provoked the Opposition MPs by bringing in the General Insurance Bill without discussing it in the Business Advisory Committee. She also said the government was on a campaign to malign the Opposition by releasing "selective" CCTV footage of the incident.

"We want the release of the full footage. Why are they not taking action against marshals who manhandled the MPs, including women lawmakers? Also, Union Minister Piyush Goyal referred to MPs who climbed the reporters' table but no action was taken. Is it because of the elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh?" she asked.

Suspended CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader Elamaram Kareem said the suspension of a dozen MPs was done because the BJP was wary of the numbers in the Upper House with some of the NDA friendly parties distancing themselves from the saffron party.

"Now the Opposition strength is less. That was deliberately done. This suspension has eased some of BJP's pressure and now they can bring bills and get it passed easily," he said.

Dola Sen, who was one of the two suspended MPs from Trinamool, alleged that the government had such habitual offenders, and it was ironic to be labelled one.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought in demonetisation with the goal of unearthing black money. The black money did not come, instead, 150 persons lost their lives. Then he imposed farm laws against the wishes of people. In the agitation for over a year, over 700 people were martyred. So, he is the habitual offender and he has never apologised for any of this," Sen said.

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