'100 things not allowed in Parliament’: Congress MP after suspension

A statement from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's office said on Monday that despite assurance by opposition MPs on not showing placards and creating ruckus, they continued to do so which in turn compelled him to suspend four Congress MPs.

After the suspension of four Congress MPs from Lok Sabha for the entire monsoon session of the Parliament on Monday, one of them hit back at the Centre. Manickam Tagore said that the action was taken against them for “raising the voice of the people in Parliament”, news agency ANI reported.

Congress MPs Manickam Tagore (extreme right), TN Prathapan, Jothimani and Ramya Haridas after being suspended for rest of the session for allegedly disrupting proceedings in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI PHOTO.)

“We will continue to fight for the people of the country. A hundred things are not allowed in Parliament, only cheering Modi ji…is allowed,” Tagore was quoted as saying.

The sixth day of the monsoon session saw a delayed start (at 2 pm) owing to the oath-taking ceremony of India's 15th and first tribal woman President Droupadi Murmu. However, disruptions commenced soon after as opposition MPs sloganeered and showed placards, demanding a discussion on inflation, GST rate hike and LPG price increase.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla gave a final warning in the afternoon, saying that if the protesting MPs choose to continue their agitation after 3 pm, they can do so outside the House. “Otherwise, I will be forced to take action against you to maintain the decorum and sanctity of the House,” he added.

He asked the sloganeering MPs to throw out the placards, and allow the lower house of the Parliament to run swiftly.

A statement from Birla's office said that the Lok Sabha speaker then had a meeting with all parties wherein the opposition MPs promised not to flash placards and create ruckus. Despite the assurance, when the rule was broken and the pandemonium continued, the speaker was compelled to suspend the four MPs - Tagore, TN Prathapan, Jothimani and Ramya Haridas.

The ongoing Parliament session - since its start last week- has seen multiple disruptions and protests. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned for the day, and will resume at 11am on Tuesday.