Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu suspends TMC MPs for the day

NEW DELHI: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has suspended some TMC MPs from participating in House proceedings for the rest of the day for disrupting the proceeding of the House.
Some members from the opposition parties, including TMC members Dola Sen, Arpita Ghosh and Nadeem ul Haq, held placards and raised slogans against the Modi government in Rajya Sabha. They demanded a discussion into the Pegasus snooping scandal and a Supreme court monitored probe into the matter.
Dola Sen, Md Nadimul Haque, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri, Arpita Ghosh and Mausam Noor have been suspended by the Rajya Sabha chairman for entering the well of the House, displaying placards and disobeying the Chair under rule 255, a statement from the Rajya Sabha said.
The proceedings of the House disrupted from the moment it commenced business at 11am. Shortly thereafter, amid the opposition sloganeering, Naidu adjourned the proceedings of the House till 2pm.
Naidu first asked members to go back to their seats and then threatened to invoke rule 255 against those holding placards.
As the members refused to budge, he ordered that those "disobeying the chair and raising placards shall leave the House under rule 255."
Earlier soon after taking of oath by new member Jawhar Sircar and laying of official documents on the table of the House, Naidu said though he has not admitted notices given under rule 267 by Ramgopal Yadav and Vishambhar Prasad Nishad of the Samajwadi Party and V Sivadasan of the CPM over farmers agitation over three farm laws, a discussion on the issue under a different rule has been admitted.
"I have gone through it. It is an ongoing issue but important. So it is admitted for discussion under other provision," he said.
A notice under rule 267 calls for setting aside of the business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised.
Naidu, however, rejected 267 notices by Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC), Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal (both Congress), CPI(M)'s Elamaram Kareem and V Sivadasan and Binoy Viswam of the CPI over the Peagus issue.
"Now there is agreement about farmers' agitation. And also about price rise, economic situation. The government has also expressed willingness to discuss. Let us discuss the farmers' issues. Let us discuss the economic situation, price rise and other issues," he said.
MPs from the opposition parties were also heard raising placards and slogans in the Lok Sabha too. The Lok Sabha has also been adjourned till 2pm.
(With inputs from agencies)