The tension between the Narendra Modi government and the Congress is set to escalate, with the formation of a committee chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to look into the conduct of MPs between March 2 and 5 and the Opposition party lawmakers raising the pitch of their protests against the suspension of seven of their colleagues from the lower House.
A Lok Sabha committee has been formed, which will go through the footage of the proceedings in the House from March 2-5. It will be chaired by the Speaker Om Birla and will have representatives from different parties.
Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi led a protest of party MPs in the Parliament complex today against the suspension of seven party MPs over their alleged misdemeanour in the Lok Sabha yesterday. The agitating Congress MPs wore black armbands and raised slogans against the ruling dispensation.
The seven MPs — Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Manicka Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan, Benny Behanan And Gurjeet Singh Aujla — were suspended from the remainder of the Budget Session for “gross misconduct” and “utter disregard” for House rules after they allegedly snatched and threw papers from the Speaker's table in the House.
Making clear their intent to not back down on their demand for an immediate discussion on the recent communal violence in Delhi, the MPs said they will raise the issue continuously. The Congress has described the action against the party MPs as “revenge politics” and a “dictatorial decision”.
Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and chief whip in the House K Suresh met the Speaker today and gave a letter to him seeking revocation of the suspension of the party MPs.
On the other hand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in the Lok Sabha: “The government does not want to keep any MP outside Parliament. But what happened yesterday never happened in the 70 years of independent India.”
Meanwhile, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till March 11 following ruckus in both the Houses over the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the riots in Delhi.
