Parliament deadlock broken: Speaker lifts suspension of 4 Cong MPs, RS removes remarks on Sonia

The Lok Sabha decision on the four MPs, Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, T N Prathapan and S Jothimani, came after he obtained an assurance from Opposition parties that they would not bring placards into the House. The move also led to a discussion in the afternoon on the issue of price rise.

The Speaker, who is learnt to have initiated the patch-up effort after meeting both sides, also warned that stringent action would be taken against those who violate “laid down procedures” and bring “exhibits” to the House. The four MPs had been suspended on July 25 for “misconduct” on the floor of the House.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat’s move came on directions from Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu after Finance Minister Sitharaman had demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi over Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “Rashtrapatni” remark on President Droupadi Murmu.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, had written to Naidu on Friday, urging him to expunge the remarks made by Sitharaman as well as Leader of the House Piyush Goyal about Gandhi, who is a Lok Sabha MP. Kharge pointed out that there was a “time-honoured” convention in Rajya Sabha according to which members are not allowed to reflect on or make critical remarks about the Lok Sabha or its members.

In the Lok Sabha, the four Congress MPs had been suspended for the rest of the session after the Opposition vociferously raised various issues, such as the price rise and changed GST rates on packed food items. The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, witnessed the suspension of 23 MPs for unruly behaviour but the sanction was only for a week.

While other Opposition parties had earlier agreed to heed the Lok Sabha Speaker’s suggestions on conduct in the House, the Congress assurance on placards has come now. While the Opposition had demanded an immediate discussion on price rise, the Government had insisted that it would happen after Finance Minister Sitharaman, who was affected by Covid, returned to Parliament.

Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the Speaker should now convene a meeting of the General Purpose Committee with members from all parties to decide on the mode of protests in the House. He also said the Opposition should get opportunities to raise issues.

“At times, there are issues which the Opposition wants to raise vociferously and we have to resort to demonstrating our protests if the Government does not give us a patient hearing… But sir, it’s not the intention of the Opposition to hurt the Chair,” Chowdhury said, addressing the Speaker. He said that he would convey the Speaker’s instructions to the suspended MPs.

Speaker Birla said he was “hurt” by the incidents that took place in the House during the last two weeks. “There should be a consensus that we do not bring placards inside the House. I will urge all parties that no one should bring placards to the House. I am giving a final warning, if anyone gets placards to the House I will neither listen to the Government nor the Opposition and will take action,” the Speaker said.

Earlier on Monday, Congress and DMK MPs stormed the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans demanding the withdrawal of the suspension. MoS Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said the House should be allowed to function since the Government has listed a discussion on price rise as per the Opposition demand. But the Opposition MPs continued their protests, leading to the adjournment of Question Hour.

When the Lok Sabha met again at 12 noon, the MPs continued their sloganeering and proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who was present in the House, was seen asking Chowdhury and other leaders to approach the Speaker to repeat the request for withdrawal of suspension.

When the Lok Sabha met at 2 pm, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said he had told the all-party meeting that Finance Minister Sitharaman had tested positive for Covid and a discussion on price rise would take place once she returns. “I am not able to understand why the Lok Sabha productivity was lost for the last two weeks,” Joshi said.

The withdrawal of suspension later has rekindled prospects of a business-filled session till the last day on August 12. The Government has listed 24 fresh bills for introduction.

On Monday, amidst the pandemonium in the morning, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill that seeks to convert the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTU), a deemed-to-be university, into the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, an autonomous Central university. The amended law will help the Government to expand the scope of the university and cover the entire transport sector.

In the Rajya Sabha, sources told The Indian Express that Kharge raised the remarks against Sonia Gandhi with Naidu on Monday morning. Opposition sources said Naidu agreed with Kharge’s contention that Gandhi’s name should not have been taken in Rajya Sabha as she is a member of the other House and not in a position to defend herself.

In his letter on Friday, Kharge wrote: “One of the time-honoured conventions is that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or on members of the other House.” Referring to a 1987 ruling by the then Chairman R Venkataraman, Kharge pointed out that “no person who is not a member of this House can be referred to in the House in a derogatory manner or in any other way affecting his reputation”.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choiwdhury, too, had written to Speaker Om Birla urging him to expunge references made to Gandhi by Union Minister Smriti Irani on the Murmu issue. But sources pointed out that “there is a difference” as Gandhi is a member of Lok Sabha.