ISLAMABAD: Eight opposition lawmakers on Wednesday from India’s Congress party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were suspended from the lower house of Parliament for ‘disruptive’ conduct, Indian media reported.
The lawmakers were expelled from the ongoing Budget Session of the Lok Sabha after they reportedly climbed onto desks and threw papers in protest over opposition leader Rahul Gandhi being prevented from speaking for a second day, Indian media reported.
Gandhi has been trying to respond to remarks attributed to former army chief Gen M.M. Naravane about alleged Chinese aggression, mentioned in an unpublished book.
In a letter to the parliament’s speaker, Gandhi said it was unprecedented for an opposition leader to be stopped from commenting on the President’s joint address, which opens each parliamentary year.
The suspensions came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to give his formal reply to the debate on that address. Government sources told local news outlets that Modi’s speech would proceed as planned.
The confrontation began when Gandhi attempted to authenticate a newspaper article related to Naravane’s claims, as the Parliament’s chair had requested. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objected, claiming Gandhi was defying a ruling that barred discussion of the issue, media reported.
Meanwhile, Presiding Officer Tenneti Krishna Prasad halted Gandhi’s speech and called other members to speak, but several declined. Disorder followed as lawmakers shouted slogans.
One member climbed on the secretary general’s table while papers were thrown toward the chair. The session was adjourned before being briefly reconvened, when Presiding Officer Dilip Saikia announced the suspensions.
Gandhi later wrote to the speaker stating there was a deliberate effort to silence him on national security issues.
