Monsoon Session: Six Trinamool members were suspended for the day from the Rajya Sabha.
Highlights
- 6 Trinamool Congress MPs ordered to leave Rajya Sabha for the day
- "Grossly disorderly" conduct: Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said
- The MPs had entered well of house and displayed placards in protest
Six Trinamool Congress MPs were ordered to leave the Rajya Sabha for rest of the day over "grossly disorderly" conduct, after they entered the well of the house and displayed placards while protesting over the Pegasus scandal.
The Rajya Sabha members are Dola Sen, Nadimul Haque, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri , Arpita Ghosh and Mausam Noor. Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu first asked members to go back to their seats and then threatened to invoke rule 255 against those holding placards.
Opposition leaders, including Trinamool members, trooped into the well of the house, some holding placards, to demand a discussion on the issue of Israeli-made, military-grade Pegasus spyware allegedly being used to snoop on opposition leaders, government critics and journalists.
Venkaiah Naidu said "issues can be taken up for discussion in the house only with broad agreement" sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said. He also met leaders of various parties, including those who have been protesting.
Minutes after the suspension order, Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien tweeted that opposition MPs will protest at 2 pm. "Two pm in Rajya Sabha. Today. Come watch the entire Opposition unite against Modi-Shah dictatorship," he wrote, along with the hashtag #KhelaHobe (there will be a game), his party's slogan for the Bengal election.
Since the start of the monsoon session of parliament, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have witnessed constant disruptions, with face-offs between the government and the opposition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed the opposition, saying repeated adjournments forced by the opposition were "an insult to the constitution... to democracy and to the public".