NEW DELHI, Aug 23:
Acting tough against Andhra Pradesh MPs for continuously disrupting the House, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today suspended 12 of them for five sittings under a rule which was used for the first time.
Similar action was threatened against two TDP MPs in Rajya Sabha by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien “for holding the House to ransom” but he could not do so as AIADMK and TMC opposed it.
In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker named the members – 8 from Congress and 4 TDP – for “grave disorder” after two brief adjournments of the House due to disruptions by their continued protests. All of them belong to Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
The action was taken under rule Rule 374(A) of Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha. As per the rule, a member after being named by the Speaker stands “automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less”.
The rule, which was used for the first time since its introduction in the last Lok Sabha, also states: “Provided that the House may, at any time, on a motion being made, resolve that such suspension be terminated.”
The rule regarding automatic suspension is applied in the event of “grave disorder occasioned by a member coming into the Well of the House or abusing the rules of the House persistently and willfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans”.
During their term of suspension, the MPs will not be allowed inside the Central Hall of Parliament also. There is no clarity, however, on whether they would be entitled for their daily allowances during the session.
After the House was adjourned for the day, the four TDP members continued to sit inside the chamber for several hours.
The action came a day after the Government’s effort to bring a motion for suspension of 10 members of the two parties was scuttled by a united opposition. The motion was subsequently withdrawn.
This is the second instance of suspension of members in the present Lok Sabha. More than a year back, eight pro-Telangana Congress members had been suspended from the House for similar reasons.
In the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien threatened to suspend two agitating TDP members for a day “for holding the House to ransom” but could not do so as members of AIADMK and TMC opposed it.
Kurien issued the warning at around 2.30 PM when Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal was to give clarifications on the missing files of the coal block allocation.
The two MPs Y S Chaudhary and C M Ramesh, were in the Well and chanting slogans against the decision to form Telangana.
Kurien pleaded with them to allow the House to function but the members were unrelenting.
Amid din, Kurien threatened to take action against them under Rule 255 under which “the Chairman may direct any member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the Council and any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting.”
Opposition members V Maitreyan (AIADMK) and Derek O’Brien (TMC) opposed any action against them prompting to Chair to say, “You want clarification on the coal issue and the Prime Minister is here. You want the discussion but do not want me to take any action against them. This is double standards.”
With his repeated threats and appeals failing to yield any result, he said, “the Chair is helpless.” He then adjourned the House for 30 minutes.
When the House reassembled, Kurien said he was “pained and hurt” as the Chair wanted the House to function.
He said the Prime Minister, despite difficulties, was present in the House to intervene as per the demands by some members for him to intervene on the missing coal block allocation files.
With his efforts not yielding any result, he adjourned the House till Monday.
The Lok Sabha Speaker took the decision to suspend the MPs at an all-party meeting held this morning to end the stalemate in the wake of yesterday’s failed attempt to adopt a suspension motion against the erring members.
At the meeting, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav is said to have suggested that the Speaker should take a final call on the issue, which was accepted by all parties.
It was decided that Kumar will be suspending the members herself instead of the government moving a resolution for it.
Representatives from BJD and Shiv Sena B Mahtab and Anant Geete, were believed to have disagreed with this proposal, sources said. They, however, said they would not make it an issue in the House.
Before the all-party meeting in the Speaker’s Chamber, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi discussed Parliament’s functioning. Senior ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and P Chidambaram were also present.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was also present in the meeting briefly before he left for the all-party meeting. (PTI)
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