AAP's Sanjay Singh also suspended; Rajya Sabha sees another washout

New Delhi: AAP's Sanjay Singh on Wednesday became the 20th MP to be suspended for unruly behaviour from Rajya Sabha sittings for the rest of the week as the Upper House saw no business transaction during the day with four adjournments and vociferous protests by opposition members.

The latest suspension triggered protests from other AAP MPs while the opposition parties insisted on a discussion on price rise. As soon as the proceedings commenced at 2 pm, opposition members, mostly from the AAP, trooped to the Well of the House. Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was in the chair, asked suspended AAP member Sanjay Singh to exit the House.

"Sanjay Singh Ji you are suspended for the rest of the week so please withdraw from the House," he said. Kalita also asked other protesting members at the Well of the House to return to their respective seats but they kept on raising slogans.

With the MPs refusing to budge, Kalita adjourned the proceedings for the day.

The proceedings were adjourned thrice during the pre-lunch period amid uproar by the opposition members and Singh was suspended for the remainder of the week.

Earlier, the House was adjourned soon after it met at 11 am and then twice during the Question Hour - first for 15 minutes and then till 2 pm.

As soon as the House met after the first adjournment at 12 noon, Deputy Chairman Harivansh invoked Rule 256 and named AAP member Singh.

Thereafter, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend Singh from the House for the remainder of the week. The motion was adopted by voice vote, even as opposition members continued to raise uproar in the Well of the House. The deputy chairman asked Singh to leave the House soon after the motion was adopted.

Later, Singh said he had raised in the Rajya Sabha the Gujarat hooch tragedy and was "repeatedly requesting the Chair and the government" for an answer on how spurious liquor is being sold in a state where prohibition is in place, but was suspended.

Meanwhile, twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the Chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.

The MPs are holding the protest near the Gandhi statue and will stay at the site through night, said Trinamool Congress' Dola Sen, who is one of the suspended

The 20 MPs, suspended over Monday and Tuesday, include seven from the TMC, six from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one each from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Nationalist Congress Party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha who have no members suspended will also join the protests, sources said.

"Question: What were Opposition MPs demanding Answer: A discussion on #PriceRise #GST hurting millions of people Action : Dictatorial @narendramodi govt suspends 24 MPs from #Parliament Next few days 24x 7 dharna at Gandhi statue. Peaceful satyagraha will always WIN," tweeted TMC's Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien. While the Congress and other Opposition parties were protesting at different venues in the morning, by the evening, it seemed they had come together on the issue of price rise. Sources in the Opposition also said a detailed plan of action has been drawn out for the dharna and a roster of duties created which is being circulated on a dedicated WhatsApp group.