Birla to revoke suspension of 8 MPs after pact on adherence of rules

LOk Sabha verbalizer Om Birla has in agreement(p) to countermand the respite of octad Opposition MPs, including seven from the Congress, who were suspended for the entirety of the ongoing budget session. At a meeting convened by Birla, both the ruling and the opposition sides also agreed not to enter the well of the Lok Sabha to confront the other and to adhere to the established norms and traditions of the House.The government will move a motion to revoke the suspension of lawmakers on Tuesday, 42 days after they were barred for the remainder of the budget session. They were suspended after massive protests rocked the House following Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s insistence to read from former army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir.The Opposition’s notice for a no-confidence motion against Birla had also mentioned the suspension of MPs. On Monday, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal raised the issue in the Lok Sabha. “Rose in the Lok Sabha to raise concern over the unfair suspension of 8 Opposition MPs for this Session. Parliament has seen countless protests but the suspension of MPs is a disturbing new trend that cannot be allowed to continue. This suspension should be revoked immediately,” the Congress MP said in a post on X.At the meeting convened by Birla, several opposition MPs, including Congress’s K Suresh, NCP(SP) lawmaker Supriya Sule, TMC’s Shatabdi Ray, demanded that the suspension be lifted. Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav told Birla: “You are a large-hearted Speaker. You should revoke the suspension.”Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also raised the topic of disruptions and unruly protests. “The leaders collectively decided that no member from either side would approach the opposite side in the well of the House, tear papers and throw them towards the Chair, or climb on the officials’ table inside the House. There was further consensus that all members would adhere to the established decorum and traditions of Parliament, and that both sides would ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future,” an official said.Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M) were suspended from the House by a motion moved by Rijiju on February 3.Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a bulletin reminding the members that areas in the Parliament estate should be kept obstruction-free to ensure the movement of members. “…Members have also been repeatedly advised not to bring or display posters, placards, or banners inside Parliament,” it added.