The Rajya Sabha on the first day of its business in the Winter Session suspended 12 MPs, including Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Trinamool MP Dola Sen, for the remaining part of the current session. The MPs have been suspended for misconduct and unruly behaviour in the house.
These suspended MPs include six from the Congress party, two members from the Shiv Sena, two from the Trinamool Congress and the other two from the CPM and CPI respectively. They will not be allowed in Rajya Sabha in the Winter Session.
The names include Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena), Dola Sen (TMC), Elamaram Kareem (CPM), Phulo Devi Netam (INC), Chhaya Verma (INC), Ripun Bora (INC), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Rajamani Patel (INC), Shanta Chhetri (TMC), Syed Nasir Hussain (INC), Anil Desai (Shiv Sena), Akhilesh Prasad Singh (INC).
The 12 Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended for indiscipline in the last session of the House.
— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2021
The House has been adjourned till tomorrow, 30th November
The official notice said, “This House takes cognisance and strongly condemns the utter disregard to the authority of the Chair, complete abuse of rules of the House persistently thereby wilfully obstructing the business of House through their unprecedented acts of misconduct, contemptuous, unruly and violent behaviour and intentional attacks on security personnel on the last day of 254th Session of Rajya Sabha i.e. August 11.”
According to reports, they were reprimanded for indiscipline during the monsoon session of the house, which had to be ended two days prior to the scheduled date after it witnessed a commotion in the Upper House on the last day of the session.
Reacting to the decision Shive Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi was quoted by ANI as saying: “From District Court to Supreme Court, an accused is heard even there, lawyers are provided for them too, sometimes Govt officials are sent to take their version. Here our version wasn’t taken”.
“If you see the CCTV footage it has been recorded how male marshals were jostling female MPs. All of this on one side & your decision on the other? What kind of unparliamentary behaviour is this?” she added.
If you see the CCTV footage it has been recorded how male marshals were jostling female MPs. All of this on one side & your decision on the other? What kind of unparliamentary behaviour is this?: Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi – one of the 12 RS MPs suspended for this session pic.twitter.com/qwkCVvUsse
— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2021
In August, the House had begun a discussion on ‘farmers’ protests against farm laws on the last day of the session, when opposition MPs had climbed on the officials’ table, waved black cloth, and flung files and papers in the House. They had also manhandled the security personnel.
MPs were seen manhandling security personnel in video footage
Justifying their unruly actions, the opposition leaders had, however, alleged that their MPs were roughed up by the security personnel. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi even accused the government of bringing people from outside who posed as marshals and beat up opposition leaders. However, video feeds from August 11 inside Rajya Sabha showed a whole different story.
It was evident from the video evidence that the leaders of opposition unruly behaviour led to the ruckus in the Rajya Sabha. The opposition leaders not only disrupted the working of the house but also assaulted Marshals on duty. In a detailed report, the Director of Security in the Rajya Sabha had narrated how the MPs had dragged a female marshal and had assaulted others during the ruckus in the house in the Monsoon Session.
Following this, Rajya Sabha chairperson Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla resolved to conduct a thorough investigation into past unruly incidents and the best course of action to be taken in such cases.
Meanwhile, today, ahead of the winter session at the Parliament, PM Modi gave a statement to the media urging the members of the Parliament to maintain the dignity of the House, the Speaker and the Chair. During his address, PM Modi said that the government is ready for the discussion, to give answers to every query but there should be peaceful and productive discussions in the Parliament.
