Suspension of eight LS MPs revoked

PTI

New Delhi

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday revoked with immediate effect the suspension of eight Opposition members who were barred from the House on February 3 for “unruly” behaviour, with Speaker Om Birla stressing that there should be no display of placards, posters, photos or AI-generated images inside the House or in the Parliament complex.

Congress member K Suresh requested the House to consider the revocation of the eight Opposition members, saying whatever had happened in the House was regrettable, and that his party was ready to cooperate in the smooth functioning of the House.

Following the submissions by several Opposition members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said there was a need to draw a “Laxman Rekha” for the smooth functioning of the House, which both treasury and opposition benches agreed to.

Speaker Birla said there is a need to ensure that no placards, posters, photos or AI-generated images are displayed in the House or inside the Parliament complex.

Birla said that everyone is of the opinion that proceedings in Parliament of the world’s largest democracy should be smooth and everyone should cooperate.

Rijiju then moved a motion to remove the suspension of seven Congress MPs and one CPI-M member, which was adopted by a voice vote.

The suspended MPs were Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose of the Congress, and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M).

Speaking with PTI Videos outside the Parliament building after his suspension was revoked, Manickam Tagore said, “Why did we protest? The question is very simple.”

He said Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to complete his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President on June 3. After that, the speeches of all the floor leaders of the Samajwadi Party, DMK, TMC, Shiv Sena and the NCP were also skipped, and the proceedings moved to the ruling benches, and, therefore, they protested.

“We said that the Motion of Thanks to the Honourable President is an important process and should not be bypassed. The Leader of the Opposition and all opposition leaders, who represent 240 MPs, cannot be silenced,” he said.

Aujla, whose suspension was also revoked, said India’s democracy stands strongest when voices are heard, not silenced.

“I am proud of the seven fellow MPs who stood strong together in this struggle – We stood united and we will continue to stand for democratic values and the voice of the people,” he said.

The seven Congress MPs first paid homage at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi before entering the Lok Sabha.