Suspension of 12 Opposition MPs against Rajya Sabha rules, Constitution: Kharge

The suspension of 12 Opposition MPs is against the rules of the House and the Constitution, said Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday.

"We (12 MPs) are sitting on dharna in front of the Gandhi statue as a protest against Chairman's decision to suspend us. This is against House rules and Constitution...They should revoke the suspension, call us back and let us put across our views in the House," Kharge told ANI.

The Opposition continued uproar seeking revocation of suspension of 12 MPs from the House leading to disruptions and adjournment of Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The ruckus created as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal hit out over the attitude of the 12 MPs for not showing regret over their act that resulted in their suspension from the House soon after the House reassembled at noon after the first adjournment over the issue.

"I want to clarify the allegation posed by the Opposition on the government to refuse the suspension of 12 MPs. We had several rounds of talks with the Opposition leaders over the issue but what we came to know is that the suspended MPs don't have any regret over their behaviour in the Rajya Sabha," Goyal said.

"They have insulted our marshals, the House and the country. They do not repent for the behaviour they have shown..."

As the ruckus continued, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh adjourned the House till 2 pm.

Earlier when the House met for the day at 11 am, Deputy Leader Anand Sharma and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader Tiruchi Siva had raised the issue requesting Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu to revoke the suspension of the 12 MPs, mentioning "the Opposition want the House run uninterrupted".

The ruckus started as the Chairman rejected their plea, saying "you are defending undefendable."

In a move that angered the Opposition and set the stage for acrimonious exchanges, a dozen members of Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha were suspended from the winter session on the very first day on Monday following a motion brought in by the government.

The members were suspended for alleged unruly conduct towards the end of the monsoon session in August when marshals were called after Opposition members stormed the Well of the House during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.

The suspended members comprise six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from CPI and CPM: Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and, Binoy Viswam of CPI.

( With inputs from ANI )

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