Six Congress MPs suspended from LS during mob lynching debate

Six Congress members were on Monday suspended from the Lok Sabha for five days by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan after the agitated MPs tore papers and threw them towards the Chair during their protests over the lynching issue.

The six Congress MPs, Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Ranjeet Ranjan, Sushmita Dev and MK Raghavan, reportedly barged into the Well of the House, raising slogans and tearing paper. The dramatic scenes happened during the debate on increasing instances of mob lynchings and cow vigilantism. The issue had been for taken up for discussion since the House assembled in the morning and during the Question Hour.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was also present in House, is later said to have met Opposition leaders and announced a dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the Parliament complex on Tuesday, as mark of protest against the MPs suspension.

Terming the punishment as “harsh,” the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, remarked, “Suspending our six members, while the President is being welcomed and his oath ceremony is there, is not appropriate, not good for democracy.”

Kharge, however, remarked that he didn’t support the actions of his party’s lawmakers.

Earlier, Mahajan said she was constrained to name these members due to their behaviour which was in "abuse" of the rules.

"The conduct of the members is highly unbecoming and in abuse of the rules of the House. It seeks to undermine the dignity of the House. These members were persistently and willfully obstructing the business of the House and have caused grave disorder," the Speaker said.

These members, she said, stood automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings under the provisions of Rule 374A of the procedure for conducting Lok Sabha business.

In her statement in the House, she said all this had happened despite her agreeing to a discussion under proper notice the issue of atrocities against Dalits and Muslims which was raised by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and a few other members.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had also agreed to a discussion on the issue, she said.

Despite this, the members stormed the Well, she said while pronouncing the order. They did not stop despite her repeated requests to them to return to their seats, she said.

(with PTI inputs)