8 Lok Sabha Opposition MPs’ suspension revoked

LOk Sabha lawmakers on tues committed to maintaining self-respectful carry on to maintain decorousness in the House as Speaker Om Birla revoked the suspension of eight Opposition MPs. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, suggested drawing a “Lakshman Rekha” (clear boundary) between the Treasury and Opposition benches, while Congress Chief Whip K Suresh expressed regret for the “inadvertent indiscretion” by some of the members on February 3.Following submissions by several opposition members, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju moved a motion to revoke the suspension of seven Congress MPs and one CPI(M) member, which the House adopted by a voice vote.“The House belongs to everyone. No one would want members to be suspended and remain outside… Everyone has been chosen by the public to put forward their concerns, not for tearing and throwing papers, standing on tables, and fighting,” Rijiju said.He added: “No one here would wish to see any member of this House suspended and excluded. We are all colleagues. This is the temple of democracy. The public has elected and sent us all here to voice their concerns. We have not been sent here to tear up and throw papers, to climb onto tables, or to engage in physical altercations. We understand our responsibilities very well. Accordingly, if a ‘Lakshman Rekha’—a clear boundary—were to be drawn, it would greatly assist the Honorable Speaker in conducting the proceedings of the House in the future. Therefore, I would like to begin by noting that Mr. Suresh, in his initial remarks, used the word ‘regret.’ If someone expresses regret for their mistake, then we, too, are in agreement with that sentiment.”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 on February 3.Addressing the House, Speaker Birla reminded that all leaders had agreed to cooperate in upholding the “dignity, prestige and glorious tradition” of the House. He cautioned that “fake and AI-generated photos, placards and banners could not be presented inside the Lok Sabha and at the Parliament complex, as written in an instruction given to all MPs.”Rijiju announced that the suspension of the eight MPs, which was effective until the end of the ongoing Budget sessions, had now been revoked.Earlier, during the discussion, Congress MP K. Suresh said, “For the last few weeks, eight Hon’ble members belonging to INC and CPI(M) have been suspended. Whatever indiscretion may have inadvertently happened is regretted. I request the government, through the Hon’ble Speaker, to kindly revoke their suspension.”Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said that it was the responsibility of all members of the Parliament to maintain the House’s dignity. “I want you to believe and trust that we have and will never harm the dignity of the House. But members of the ruling party should also have this resolve,” he said. Yadav added that the dignity of the House could not be restored only by raising allegations against the Opposition. Taking a dig at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, he said: “First, Nishikant ji, you should improve your behaviour. Then only the dignity of the House would be restored.”Dubey demanded an apology and claimed, “I have been an MP for 17 years. In my life, I have never violated the dignity of the House.”Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule, too, said: “There would be an effort from our side and the treasury bench to have a lakshman rekha.”She said that members of each side would not cross the imaginary line, and that both sides should also put in effort to send a message to the nation that MPs are in the Parliament to serve them and not say things against one another.  “There can be comments about policy but not each other,” she added. Sule also thanked Birla for convening the meeting to discuss the suspension and for allowing all members to speak.Citing examples of incidents where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Rajya Sabha MP Arun Jaitley apologised for misuse of words, Rijiju said: “Suresh ji did not apologise but used the word regret, and to some extent, we are ready to accept it.” He further reiterated that the government was willing to accept any decision that would allow the House to run. “We want to promise and commit here that we would never disturb the Speaker’s ruling and the rights of a member,” said Rijiju.