In a major development, Congress's Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor has stepped down as the host of a talk show on Sansad TV to show solidarity with the 12 Opposition MPs who were suspended from the Rajya Sabha.In a Twitter post, Shashi Tharoor said he was stepping down as the host of talk show 'To The Point' on Sansad TV. "I believed that my accepting Sansad TV's invitation to host a show was in the best traditions of India's parliamentary democracy, reaffirming the principle that our political differences did not prevent us, as Members of Parliament, from participating fully in various parliamentary institutions which belong to us all," Tharoor said.
"However, the prolonged suspension of 12 MPs from the Rajya Sabha, expelled in an arbitrary manner for actions committed during a previous session, has called into question the very assumption of a bipartisan spirit animating the work of Parliament. As an MP who has gone every morning to greet the protestors and express my solidarity with them, I am concerned that my continued involvement in hosting a show on Sansad TV would be seen as making me complicit in the undemocratic manner in which Parliamentary institutions are being run," he added.
On November 29, the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament, 12 Opposition MPs were suspended for the remainder of the session over their conduct in the Monsoon Session. Both Houses of Parliament have seen constant disruptions over the issue.Earlier, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is among the 12 MPs suspended in Rajya Sabha, also stepped down as an anchor of Sansad TV’s show 'Meri Kahaani'. For the unversed, Sansad TV, is an Indian government television channel, which broadcasts the programming of the two Houses of Indian Parliament and other public affairs programming. It was formed in March 2021 by amalgamating the existing house channels, Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV, although separate satellite channels are broadcast for each House.