Four Congress members of the Lok Sabha — Manickam Tagore, T.N. Prathapan, Jothimani and Ramya Haridas — were suspended from the House for the rest of the Monsoon Session under Rule 374 for obstructing the proceedings of the House on Monday. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, termed the action an attempt to "muzzle the Opposition's voice".
This came after Speaker Om Birla had warned earlier, again on Monday, that MPs who brought placards into the House will not be allowed to participate in the proceedings, before he adjourned the House till 3 p.m. The House proceedings had convened at 2 p.m. on Monday due to the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu in the Central Hall of Parliament in the morning. When the House convened, Opposition members, demanding a discussion on price rise and levying of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on essentials, protested waving placards and raising slogans, some even in the well of the House.
‘Stop bringing placards’
"I urge members to stop bringing placards into the House; the government is ready to hold a discussion and I will allow the discussion but waving of placards is not allowed," said Mr. Birla. "Any member who brings placards into the House will not be allowed to take part in the House proceedings. This is the temple of democracy, it is the responsibility of the members to maintain the dignity of the House. If you [Opposition] want to hold a discussion then I am ready for it. If MPs only want to show placards in the House, then they can do so outside the House after 3 p.m.," he added, before adjourning the House till 3 p.m.
At 3 p.m., Rajendra Agrawal occupied the Chair, and proceeded with first papers being laid on the table, and then matters under 377 taken up, all the while Opposition members continued to protest and wave placards asking for a debate on price rise. Mr. Agrawal then repeated the warning issued by Mr. Birla, and named the four Congress MPs under Rule 374. At this, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi read out a resolution that the Opposition MPs' behaviour, despite warnings by the Speaker, should attract suspension. Mr. Agrawal then put the matter to vote, and suspended the MPs for the entire session. Mr. Agrawal then asked the suspended members to leave the House before adjourning the Lok Sabha for the day.
After the four Lok Sabha members of the Congress were suspended, they moved to the Mahatma Gandhi statue with posters and placards and continued to protest.
"For the past six days, we have been asking for a discussion on price rise but the government is running away from it. And now having us suspended for raising people's issues, it seems they want to silence the voices of protests," Mr. Manickam Tagore said, adding that they would continue to protest at the Gandhi statue every day.
Mr. Chowdhury told The Hindu that the Opposition MPs were "forced" to troop into the well of the House, carry placards and raise slogans to "wake up the government from its slumber".
‘We won’t apologise’
"There is no middle path here. We will not apologise and will continue to raise our demand for a discussion on inflation and GST on the floor of the House until the government agrees to it. The government is trying to muzzle the Opposition's voice," Mr. Chowdhury said.
Mr. Pralhad Joshi defended the suspension of the four MPs saying they had shown a lack of respect for the chair and created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha by violating the laws while asserting that the government was ready for a discussion on price rise. “The Congress MPs’ action shows that they don’t respect the Chair and the House. The action taken against them is appropriate,” he said.
BSP’s Lok Sabha MP Kunwar Danish Ali tweeted: “How unfortunate is that, two young women MPs from weaker section @RamyaHaridasMP and @jothims have been suspended from #LokSabha just for demanding a discussion on price rise, the very same day when a woman from an oppressed class took oath as the President of India. #pricerise”
