Two AAP MPs among three suspended from Rajya Sabha as Opposition relay protests continue

NEW DELHI:  Three more Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended on Thursday for their unruly behaviour for the rest of the week, taking the total to 23. The suspended MPs have continued with their 50-hour relay protest outside the two Houses.

As soon as the House met, the MPs rushed to the well of the House with placards. They were named by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

Soon, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend the three members from the House for the remainder of the week.

The motion was passed by a voice vote. The suspended MPs, however, did not leave the House, leading to repeated adjournments. AAP MPs said they wanted to discuss the Gujarat hooch tragedy in the House.

The suspended MPs include AAP’s Sushil Kumar Gupta and Sandeep Kumar Pathak besides the Independent, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan.

The MPs joined the protesting members sitting at the Gandhi statue protesting their suspension and demanding discussion on price rise.

The suspended MPs include seven from the TMC, six from DMK, three from TRS, two from CPI-M, one from CPI and three from AAP and one Independent. Four Congress MPs from Lok Sabha have already been suspended.

“Our only fault was that we were raising the issue pertaining to the death of people in Gujarat due to consumption of spurious liquor,” Pathak said after their suspension.

The AAP MP, who had recently been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, alleged that more than 75 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in Gujarat and many others are still sick requiring treatment.

“The state BJP government has concealed the actual figures,” he said.

“Just to keep the death count low, bodies of those dying in hospitals are being declared unclaimed. Many people, who had consumed spurious liquor are still coming to hospitals but they are not being admitted,” said Pathak.

The Gujarat government had no moral right to continue, Pathak demanded.

“It is unfortunate that people have sent so many BJP leaders to Parliament but none of them cares. Leave aside raising the people’s voice here, none of them has any feeling of pain for those dying and suffering in Gujarat,” he said.

The AAP MP, who is in-charge of the party’s political affairs in poll-bound Gujarat, said his suspension and that of Gupta from Rajya Sabha would not stop him and the party leaders from standing by the people and raising their voice.

The suspended Rajya Sabha members on 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.

They were later joined by four Congress MPs who have also been suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the monsoon session.

AAP MP Singh also composed a parody of a popular yesteryear’s song which loosely translates to him imagining “a world without Modi and Shah, where people get food and children get milk.”

The opposition has demanded a discussion on price rise in both Houses of Parliament.