New Delhi: As the opposition leaders protested at Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament premises over suspension of 12 MPs, the Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.
The walk out came after Mr Naidu said, “Suspended MPs have not expressed remorse. I am not considering the appeal of Leader of Opposition (the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge). Suspension will not be revoked,” he asserted. The Rajya Sabha Chairman also nullified complaints about the lack of precedent for punishment of MPs for actions in a previous session.
Mr Kharge argued the government’s move to suspend the MPs and stated it was “selective” and against the rules. “I request you to revoke suspension of 12 opposition MPs… have been suspended selectively,” he added. The Congress’ Lok Sabha leader, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury interacting with the media expressed solidarity with the 12 MPs. He accused the government of using suspension as a “threat” to silence the opposition.
Earlier today, 16 parties excluding the Trinamool – met Mr Naidu. They had called to boycott today’s Rajya Sabha session if the suspension was not revoked. Yesterday nearly 12 MPs, including the Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, were suspended. The opposition slammed the centre calling it “unwarranted and undemocratic”. The Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi pointed out it skewed voting numbers. “By suspending 12 MPs from Rajya Sabha, BJP has gone ahead of majority… Can easily pass listed bills through the upper house now,” he tweeted