Congress urges Om Birla not to suspend Opposition MPs for 'unruly' behaviour in Lok Sabha

The government is contemplating moving suspension motion against as many as 11 Opposition MPs who resorted to sloganeering and throwing of papers towards the Chair in Lok Sabha yesterday. However, Congress has urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla not to suspend the MPs.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress' leader in Lok Sabha, on Wednesday met Birla and urged him not to suspend MPs. He said that the MPs were raising the concern of the people and the government is not listening to Opposition parties.

Sources told ANI that Birla has assured him that suspension will not be done for now. It is believed that a new committee could be set up that will monitor behaviour of the protesting MPs and decisions will be taken accordingly.

Earlier on Wednesday, unruly scenes prevailed in the Lok Sabha when Congress and TMC MPs indulged in throwing papers towards the Chair as they protested and raised slogans over the Pegasus row. The House was adjourned repeatedly as an unrelenting opposition created uproar, repeating the scenes of the last over one week.

Soon after the Question Hour ended, Speaker Birla left the House and Rajendra Agrawal took over. When papers were being laid, Congress members Gurjeet Aujala, TN Prathapan, Hibi Eden and some others threw business papers of the day, some torn papers as well as placards at the Chair. A piece of the torn placard landed in the press gallery just above the Speaker's podium. The members repeatedly threw papers at the Chair and later towards the Treasury benches. One of the papers landed near the seat of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

Last week, Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen was suspended for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Sen had snatched and tore the statement on Pegasus which the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw was reading.