12 Rajya Sabha MPs suspended for entire winter session for ‘unruly behavior’ in Monsoon Session

Twelve Rajya Sabha MPs from five political parties have been suspended for the rest of the Winter Session for ‘unruly behavior and misconduct’ during the Monsoon session. Suspended MPs will not be allowed to take part in the proceeding of the house.

As per Rule 256 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), Chairman can suspend any members for a period not exceeding the remainder of the Session.

While 6 MPs belong to the Congress party, two each from from TMC and Shiv Sena and one each from the CPI and the CPI(M).

The suspeded members are : Syed Naseer Hussain, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora and Rajmani Patel of the Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of the CPI-M, Binoy Viswam of the CPI, Dola Sen and Shanta Chhetri of the Trinamool.

The suspension of the members could be a new flash point between opposition members and the government in the winter session of the parliament which began on Monday.

Opposing the suspension, Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge said that the suspension is not in accordance to the provision under the Rules of Procedures and Parliamentary practice. He called the suspension of the Opposition MPs from the upper house ‘undemocratic’.

As per Rule 256, the naming of the member – which Chair thinks has deliberately caused disruption, violated rules, and interrupted the functioning of the house – is mandatory.

As per political observers, this particular rule has been violated by the Chair in this case. Secondly, this particular procedure is only relevant on the date of occurrence of the alleged disregard or misconduct. Here, 12 Opposition MPs have been suspended for alleged disorderly conduct which occurred during the last Session.

In the present case, none of the members have been named on that particular day. Bringing forward a motion to suspend the members months after the day of occurrence is not in accordance with the Parliamentary order.

Opposition parties have issued a joint statement, calling the suspension an authoritarian decision. To deliberate the future course of action, a meeting has been called tomorrow, on November 30 by the Opposition parties