Congress members protest in the Well of the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)
Hours after Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended six Congress MPs for five days, the party’s leader in the lower house, Mallikarjun Kharge, registered his protest and termed the action as being harsh and “not appropriate.” “When the UPA was in power, members of the NDA did many things…. I am not supporting that. But such a harsh punishment is not appropriate… We will raise the issue in the House Tuesday and hold a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue,” Kharge said.
The party also sought to unite the Opposition over the issue. Congress President Sonia Gandhi met leaders of the Left, Trinamool Congress and the NCP soon after adjournment of the House, while Congress floor managers also reached out to opposition parties. Sources said the opposition plan to demand revocation of the suspension, in the House Tuesday.
The Congress further filed a counter complaint against BJP MP Anurag Thakur, accusing him of “filming” the proceedings in the House. “During Zero Hour today Anurag Thakur, BJP MP, was seen filming the proceedings in the House…. This according to the rule is forbidden. We request you kindly take immediate action to preserve the sanctity of the proceedings of the House,” the letter by Congress whip K C Venugopal to the Speaker reads.
One of the suspended MPs Sushmita Dev also wrote to the Lok Sabha Secretary General requesting that she be provided the “unedited recording” of the Lok Sabha proceedings between 12 pm and 1 pm, when the unruly scenes took place. Speaking on the issue, Kharge said, “On one hand, we are talking about democracy and on the other if the government recommends harsh action against those who protest, then it is not good for democracy.”
He added that “such things happen” when the government does not allow the Opposition to place its views. “Many a times, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister himself says certain things…but we are not given a chance to clarify…..when things happen in a one-sided fashion, such incidents occur,” he said.
He said such incidents had happened in the past too but such harsh punishment had not been given to any of the members. “The members were not given notice…given no indication…was not called and talked to…if you take a one way decision…nobody was given a chance to explain…why it happened…an explanation should have been sought from the members and if it was not satisfactory, then action could have been taken.”
Kharge said the government was not willing to take up the debate on lynching. “But we wanted to take it up immediately because this was a very important issue and several times our members had raised their voice…even other political parties have done so….we wanted to discuss the issue…. when the Government postponed…. Out of emotions something happened,” he said.
