25 MPs can’t hold Parliament hostage: Kamal Nath

The government will recommend strict action against 25 Lok Sabha MPs to Speaker Meira Kumar in a bid to get the Telangana bill passed peacefully, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said after chaos prevailed in the Lower House over the issue of separate statehood.

The government will recommend strict action against 25 Lok Sabha MPs to Speaker Meira Kumar in a bid to get the Telangana bill passed peacefully, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said after chaos prevailed in the Lower House over the issue of separate statehood.

“The government, home ministry and the police will take action in accordance with the directions of the Speaker,” the minister said after an expelled Congress lawmaker used pepper spray in Lok Sabha. TDP MP Venugopal Reddy was charged with brandishing a knife inside the House. He, however, denied the allegation.

Terming the violent episode in Lok Sabha during the introduction of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill as a blot in the history of Parliament, Nath said outside the House, "A group of 25 MPs cannot hold the entire House hostage. We will recommend strictest possible action against them."

Despite the unprecedented ruckus where MPs had fisticuffs, Nath sounded optimistic about the future of the bill. "We will definitely push for its discussion and passage. The Speaker will have to decide how to put the House in order during the discussion and voting."

The Congress leaders refused to accept that the UPA's floor management failed to tackle the situation. Nath, flanked by his deputy Rajeev Shukla, added that members always had the scope to vote the bill out instead of resorting to violence.

Full Coverage: Telangana, the troubled state

The bill is likely to come up for discussion and passing next week, after the passage of the Vote on Account on February 19. As the Parliament session is slated to end on February 21, the government will have a short window to pass the Telangana bill in both Houses. If not passed, the Telangana bill will lapse at the end of the current Lok Sabha.

The Congress had earlier expelled six MPs for bringing a no-confidencemotion against the UPA government.