House logjam intensifies as govt moves to suspend MPs
24 Aug 2013 5:12 AM IST
As the UPA’s chances of passing the ambitious Food Security Bill looks bleaker by the day due to repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha, the government on Thursday brought a motion to suspend 10 members from Andhra Pradesh who have been protesting over the Telangana issue. Government’s move, however, faced stiff resistance from the Opposition that refused to support the motion.
As soon as the parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath moved a motion to suspend six Congress and four Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members for disturbing the proceedings regularly since the beginning of the monsoon session on 5 August, there was total chaos in the Lok Sabha.
Agitated members of TDP and Congress, who were to be suspended, pulled the microphones on the
Speaker’s podium and one of them took out a whip from his pocket and was about to hit himself before it was snatched from him by his party colleagues.
Moving the motion against the agitating members from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, Nath said, ‘Unfortunately the House has not been able to function since the beginning of this session in light of the protests by these members.’ The minister further said that, ‘the 10 members who behaved in a manner unbecoming of MPs by continuously disturbing the proceedings of the House be suspended from services of the House for the remainder of the session.’ The Opposition refused to side with the government on this issue, with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, stating it is the manner in which the formation of Telangana has been announced which has created problems. ‘They have not even been able to convince their own chief minister (of Andhra Pradesh). Their MLAs from Andhra come and stage a dharna at the Gandhi statue in Parliament. Their MPs shout and disrupt proceedings,’ said Swaraj.
As soon as the parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath moved a motion to suspend six Congress and four Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members for disturbing the proceedings regularly since the beginning of the monsoon session on 5 August, there was total chaos in the Lok Sabha.
Agitated members of TDP and Congress, who were to be suspended, pulled the microphones on the
Speaker’s podium and one of them took out a whip from his pocket and was about to hit himself before it was snatched from him by his party colleagues.
Moving the motion against the agitating members from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, Nath said, ‘Unfortunately the House has not been able to function since the beginning of this session in light of the protests by these members.’ The minister further said that, ‘the 10 members who behaved in a manner unbecoming of MPs by continuously disturbing the proceedings of the House be suspended from services of the House for the remainder of the session.’ The Opposition refused to side with the government on this issue, with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, stating it is the manner in which the formation of Telangana has been announced which has created problems. ‘They have not even been able to convince their own chief minister (of Andhra Pradesh). Their MLAs from Andhra come and stage a dharna at the Gandhi statue in Parliament. Their MPs shout and disrupt proceedings,’ said Swaraj.
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