Trinamool's Derek O'Brien Suspended From Rajya Sabha For "Unruly Behaviour"

Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien was in the eye of a storm in the Rajya Sabha Thursday after refusing to leave the House following his suspension - for "unruly behaviour" - for the rest of this session. The matter has been sent to the House's Privileges Committee after a motion by the BJP's Piyush Goyal.

The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till Friday after the Chair, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, declared the business of the House had been "adversely affected" by Mr O'Brien's "defiance".

The stand-off came as Parliament resumed amid tension over the major security breach in the Lok Sabha last afternoon. Derek O'Brien had demanded a discussion on the incident, in which two men jumped from the visitors' gallery into the Lok Sabha and burst yellow smoke canisters.

After multiple confrontations, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 4 pm, when Mr Dhankhar declared he would give "another opportunity to the suspended member, Mr O' Brien, to reflect on his conduct, desist from any further non-compliance of the Chair's orders, and forthwith withdraw from the House".

Mr Dhankhar had earlier labelled the MP's an "absolute transgression" of rules. "Derek O'Brien is named to leave the House immediately... Derek O'Brien says he will defy the Chair... Derek O'Brien says he will not respect the rules. This is a serious misconduct. This is a shameful incident," he said.

Despite the warnings, Mr O'Brien and other opposition MPs had continued to protest, and demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah be present to answer for yesterday's incident. At one point, Mr O'Brien approached the Chair, threw his hands up in the air, and spoke in an animated manner.

As the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day, Mr Dhankhar re-assured MPs a high-level investigation had been opened into the security breach, and that a police case had been filed. 

Meanwhile, 14 Lok Sabha MPs were also suspended amid protests over the smoke attack. 

READ | 14 Opposition MPs Suspended For Disrupting House Proceedings

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior ministers to discuss the breach; the PM was not in Parliament yesterday as he was attending swearing-in ceremonies of the ruling BJP's two new chief ministers - Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh and Vishnu Deo Sai in Chhattisgarh.

At least six people were involved in the smoke scare inside and outside Parliament yesterday; two men popped smoke canisters in the Lok Sabha and a man and a woman did so outside. All four have been arrested, as have a husband and wife who sheltered them at their Gurgaon home.

READ | Engineer, Army Aspirant, Driver: Who Are Parliament Breach Accused

The four inside have been identified as Sagar Sharma, D Manoranjan, Neelam Devi, and Amol Shinde, while the Gurgaon man has been name as Vicky Sharma. A sixth man is on the run. 

READ | Breach Mastermind Last Seen In Rajasthan, He Fixed Date, Filmed Smoke Scare

The four who deployed smoke canisters have been charged under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, besides sections in the Indian Penal Code. The six currently in custody, including the wife of Vicky Sharma, are being interrogated by Delhi Police's anti-terror cell.

During questioning, they told police the breach was meant to draw the government's attention to various issues, such as the recent ethnic violence in Manipur and unemployment levels in India.

READ | Objective Behind Parliament Security Breach? What Intruders Told Cops

Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan were given visitors' passes after a request from the BJP's Mysuru MP, Prathap Simha, who told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla he had done so after the former's father approached him. The father told Mr Simha his son wanted to experience the new Parliament.

READ | Parliament Breach Case: BJP MP Explains Why His Office Issued Passes

The opposition has demanded that Mr Simha also be investigated. 

Meanwhile, Parliament has tightened security protocols, including temporarily banning visitors and restricting non-essential personnel, inlcuding media. Seven Lok Sabha staff have been suspended. 

READ | Parliament To Get Body Scanners, Security Rules Changed After Breach

Yesterday's scare came on the 22nd anniversary of the terror strike on the old Parliament building, in which two Pakistan-based groups attacked and killed nine people, including eight security staff.