Winter Session 2023
Fifteen Opposition members were suspended from Parliament on Thursday following protests against the security breach a day earlier involving two intruders, who jumped into Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery and sprayed smoke in a major security breach.
The intrusion on the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament sparked questions about laxity in security. The motion for suspension of nine opposition MPs – Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan, Mohammad Jawed, PR Natarajan, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, K Subrahmanyam, SR Parthiban, S Venkatesan, and Manickam Tagore – was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.
The MPs were suspended soon after the House met at 3 pm following its adjournment earlier. The House was later adjourned for the day.
Earlier, five Congress members were suspended from Lok Sabha for “unruly behavior” for the remainder of the winter session.
Joshi had moved the motion for their suspension.
He moved the motion after apprising the House of the steps taken in the wake of yesterday’s incident of a security breach in which two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitor’s gallery.
The opposition has been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.
The motion was moved soon after the House met at 2 pm following an adjournment earlier in the day. Joshi moved the motion to suspend Congress MPs – TN Prathapan, Hibi Eden, S Jothimani, Ramya Haridas, and Dean Kuriakose – for the remainder of the winter session, which will conclude on December 22.
BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab was on the chair when the motion was moved and adopted amid sloganeering by opposition members.
Joshi said that Speaker Om Birla has written to the Home Secretary for a high-level inquiry into yesterday’s incident and the probe has begun.
He cited instances from the past, including when papers were thrown from the visitor’s gallery, and such unfortunate incidents had occurred earlier too. He called upon opposition members not to “politicise” the issue.
Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien has been suspended for the remainder of the session in Rajya Sabha for “gross misconduct”. The winter session of Parliament will conclude on December 22.
Source: ANI
