Protest over suspension of 12 RS members continues

Twelve Rajya Sabha members continue the protest against their suspension at the Gandhi Statue in Parliament premises. Many opposition members, including Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, Congress MP P. Chidambaram, and TMC MP Sushmita Dev, joined them. The 12 Rajya Sabha members have been suspended for the entire winter session of the parliament for their “unruly” conduct and “inappropriate” behaviour in front of the media and other senior members in the house.

“The actions they committed, in front of media personnel and other members in the parliament, were quite inappropriate. They should have been punished more,” Hardwar Dubey, the member of Rajya Sabha, BJP, told The Daily Guardian.

Calling such suspension “arbitrary” and undemocratic, more than 100 members from the opposition are protesting silently over such action. The opposition members claimed that the suspended MPs were not given any chance to speak for themselves.

“There was no consultation from the opposition members. The decision is arbitrary, and the opposition members have not been given any chance to defend or speak for themselves. Although the three farm bills have been repealed, everything has been done without consultations from any members of the opposition parties. We will continue the silent protest peacefully,” Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, a member of Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress, told this paper.

Similarly, other members of the opposition party have been calling it unconstitutional and undemocratic as they were not given the right to express their thoughts.

“Everyone has the right to express their opinions in the Parliament. We live in a democratic country, but the suspension of the MPs is against the democracy of our nation,” Sanjay Lathar, Samajwadi Party spokesperson, told this correspondent.

The 12 Rajya Sabha members, include two members each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, one member each from CPI and CPI(M) and six members from Congress. The suspension of MPs disrupted the proceedings in the Upper house. The government has insisted that the suspension would only be revoked if the suspended members apologise for their unruly behaviour in the house.