Rajya Sabha ruckus continues, suspended MPs stage 'dharna'
After a stormy session yesterday, the Rajya Sabha witnessed pandemonium again today after eight MPs, who were suspended for their unruly behavior, refused to leave the House. The Upper House was adjourned and the opposition MPs then took their protest to the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex. They held placards reading "Democracy murdered" and "We will fight for farmers." Here are more details.
Rajya Sabha witnessed unprecedented scenes on Sunday after Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh let Farmers' and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, pass through voice note. Opposition parties objected to continuing the proceedings beyond 1 pm and wanted the matter to be taken up today.
Hoping to stall the Bills, some opposition MPs came to the well of the House, climbed onto the podium, and Trinamool's Derek O'Brien also showed Singh the rule-book. This behavior was condemned by BJP, and the opposition claimed Singh colluded with the saffron party to get the Bills passed. Today, when the session started, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu suspended eight MPs, but they remained seated.
Pulling up the MPs, Naidu said, "You have no right to obstruct the chair and the business in the House. It tarnishes the image of the House. Is it a Parliamentary standard? If the marshals were not called on time, what would have happened?"
Today, the House was adjourned five times. When the proceedings resumed at noon, Acting Chairperson Bhubaneswar Kalita once again urged the suspended MPs to leave and asked members to maintain decorum. After they didn't budge, the House was adjourned for the day. Besides Derek, Sanjay Singh, Raju Satav, KK Ragesh, Ripun Bora, Dola Sen, Syed Nazir Hussain, and Elamaran Karim were also suspended.
Thereafter, the eight suspended MPs sat near the Gandhi statue on an indefinite protest. They were joined by JD(S) veteran Deve Gowda and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut. When asked about yesterday's event and the punishment, Karim told India Today, "I am proud of yesterday's events. Because we are fighting for the Indian farmer." Separately, Derek said, "We don't want to say anything, just sit."
Opposition parties on dharna in front of Gandhi statue inside #Parliament pic.twitter.com/xO3r1Rc3OD
— Poulomi Saha (@PoulomiMSaha) September 21, 2020
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to allay farmers' fears by saying the Bills are in their best interests. "I want to make it clear these laws are not against agriculture 'mandi', it will continue like always. I want to assure every farmer that the Minimum Support Price system will continue as before," he said, as he again blamed "misinformation campaign" for the situation.
