As soon as the winter session of Parliament begins, 12 MPs have been suspended from the Rajya Sabha. The entire opposition is unitedly opposing this suspension. Chairman Venkaiah Naidu refused to quash the suspension of the MPs. He told the opposition that the suspension of 12 MPs has been done according to the rules, so if they want, they can be a part of the discussion today or walk out of the house. have make.
Actually, they are the same MPs who created a ruckus in the House instead of discussing the farmers’ agitation and many other issues in the monsoon session. These include six from Congress, two from TMC, two from Shiv Sena and one each from CPM and CPI, who have been suspended.
The opposition has issued a joint statement opposing this suspension. The opposition said that this is a violation of the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Rajya Sabha. Along with this, the opposition is holding a joint meeting on this today. Opposition parties say that the government should negotiate and get the suspension back, otherwise they will protest outside and inside the Parliament. However, the BJP has said in clear words that if the opposition apologizes to the speaker, then their suspension will be withdrawn by the chairman, but the opposition is not ready to bow down.
The Rajya Sabha has issued a notice informing everyone that on the last day of the monsoon session, several opposition leaders not only created a ruckus, but also misbehaved with the security personnel. Hence everyone is suspended for this session as per Rule 256.
Under what rules does the speaker suspend?
Rule 256 on procedure and conduct of business in the Rajya Sabha provides for suspension of an MP, while Rule 255 provides for a lesser punishment. At the same time, in the Lok Sabha, through rules 373 and 374, the Speaker suspends any MP. For the suspension of a Rajya Sabha MP, the Chairman can take the name of the person obstructing the business of the House, then he is required to leave the House.
- Suspension under Rule 256
Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended under this rule. According to this rule, in case of disregard for the powers of the Chair or willfully obstructing the business of the Rajya Sabha, a member who abuses the rules can be suspended for the remainder of the session by the Chairman. As soon as the suspension is done, that member will have to leave the house. This suspension will be valid for that session only.
- Suspension under Rule 255
If the Chairman finds the conduct of any leader disorderly, he can direct him to leave the Rajya Sabha. This rule will be applicable on that day only.
- How can the suspension be returned?
Yes, this suspension can be withdrawn, but it depends on the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. If the suspended MP who created the ruckus apologizes, then the Chairman can withdraw this suspension.
Is suspension of MPs an extreme step?
In fact, the unruly behavior of parliamentarians should be resolved in accordance with long-term and democratic values. However, for the smooth conduct of the proceedings, it is necessary to respect the supreme authority of the Presiding Officer. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to maintain balance for the functioning of the House. The function of the Presiding Officer is to conduct the House and not to rule over it. Suspending the opposition leaders for the entire session is like taking away the time from the opposition to pass or discuss the resolution moved by the government. It is also a fact that if the opposition is weak in the Parliament, then the ruling party can implement the law arbitrarily and a good debate on any issue in the house is not possible without a strong opposition.
For a healthy democracy, it is considered necessary to have a strong opposition in front of the government because the opposition questions the government’s actions and policies, and prevents it from becoming a dictatorship. It is worth mentioning that whenever leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat spoke in the Parliament while in the opposition, the ruling party listened to their words.
There have been suspensions before
However, this is not the first time that such suspension of MPs has been done before.
- The biggest suspension was in 1989 during the regime of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Then the Speaker of the Lok Sabha suspended 63 MPs and another 4 other MPs also walked out of the house in protest.
- After this, in January 2019, the then Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 45 MPs.
- In the year 2014, Speaker Meira Kumar had suspended 18 MPs for creating ruckus in the House.
Let us tell you that in the monsoon session, some of these opposition MPs threw paper at Deputy Speaker Harivansh, and climbed to the table of the House. Earlier the opposition alleged that the BJP had called outsiders to create a ruckus in the House, but the story was opposite when the video surfaced.
It was also revealed in the video related to the uproar in the House that the Marshals of the House were also misbehaved. After these incidents, Rajya Sabha Speaker M. Venkaiah Naidu was forced to take action. At that time the chairman was also seen emotional in his decision. then he said that ‘Opposition has forgotten the dignity of the House, such an incident should not happen again’.
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