Farmers Movement Archive

Oppn uproar in RS: Dy chairman condemns suspended TMC MP’s ‘behaviour’

The Opposition on Thursday disrupted the functioning of Rajya Sabha after deputy chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh condemned the behaviour of a suspended Trinamool Congress MP who was allegedly involved in a scuffle with security staff on Wednesday.A woman security official was injured in the incident and had lodged a complaint, the deputy chairperson said. The incident took place on Wednesday after the Upper House was adjourned for the day.“One of the MPs who was earlier suspended for the day tried to enter the Rajya Sabha chamber. On being stopped by the security staff, the MP broke the glass of one of the doors in the inner lobby. A lady security officer was hit by a glass piece and injured. The matter is under the consideration of the chair,” Singh said, describing the sequence of events.The deputy chairman said such conduct was “highly deplorable”, calling the incident “very unfortunate.”Also Read | Parliament: BJP hits out at Congress, says party doesn’t want serious discussionThe Trinamool Congress MP, Arpita Ghosh, was one of six members of party suspended for the day by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday for entering the Well of the House with placards and shouting slogans. The MPs were protesting the Pegasus snooping row, the contentious farm laws and spiraling fuel prices.Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray defended the MP. He said the lawmakers had returned to the House after it was adjourned for the day to collect their bags but the security staff did not allow them to enter.He said, “The glass broke in the commotion. What is going on? Will she be suspended again today?”The leader of the House, union minister Piyush Goyal, defended the security staff. He said the chamber was closed for sanitisation when the lawmakers tried to enter the House. He said breaking glass and hurting a member of the security staff was not acceptable.Goyal said, “Don’t demoralise the security staff with such behaviour.”Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge also intervened to support the TMC leaders who were suspended. “Protests are not new. It is part of the democratic way. Even late BJP leader Arun Jaitley said disruption is part of democracy…Yesterday [Wednesday], they had returned to collect their bags and papers after the House was adjourned for the day,” Kharge said.The Opposition uproar over the matter and protests against the snooping row and the contentious farm laws led to three adjournments in the pre-lunch session. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is also the deputy leader of the House, said, “No one has any problem with protesting, but there is a problem with violence and the way the security staff was manhandled.”Last week, Naidu warned the MPs that action could be taken against those not following decorum.

Hindustan Times

05-08-2021

India