Suspension of 7 Congress MPs over disruption in parliament has been revoked
The suspension of seven Congress MPs from parliament last week for disrupting the house over a call for discussion on the violence in Delhi has been revoked, sources have said. The suspended members include Gaurav Gogoi, TN Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Benny Behananm, Manickam Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla. The second half of the budget session will end on April 3.
Calling it "revenge politics", the Congress's leader of the house Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had said the party will "not let up".
At Speaker Om Birla's room, all the parties asked him to come to the house and that they trust him. The opposition also requested him to revoke the suspension, sources said.
The tug-of-war on the call for discussion on the violence in Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA had ensured repeated adjournments, allowing little time for any other business since parliament reconvened for the second half of the budget session.
The biggest ruckus took place on Monday and Tuesday last, when members of the government and the opposition engaged in a scuffle and threw paper missiles at the chair.
After Monday's uproar, Speaker Om Birla held an all-party meeting to lay some ground rules for the smooth functioning of the house. On Tuesday, after a scuffle between the members, the Speaker had warned that members from both opposition and treasury benches, who cross over to the other side, will be suspended for the entire session.
"Snatching papers from the Speaker's table is utmost disrespect to the Chair. Those who snatched papers from the Chair, their membership should be terminated," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said.