Rajya Sabha chairman suspends 8 MPs accused of causing ruckus in Parliament during passage of farm bills

New Delhi, 21-Sep-2020

A day after a major uproar in the Upper House in Parliament, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday suspended eight MPs, including Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien. The Rajya Sabha chairman also rejected a notice for no-confidence motion against deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, saying that it is "not admissible under the rules". After Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved the motion, the House suspended TMC�s Derek O' Brien and Dola Sen, Congress� Ripun Bora, Rajeev Satav, and Nasir Hussain, Aam Aadmi Party�s Sanjay Singh and Communist Party of India (Marxist)�s KK Ragesh and E Kareem for the remainder of the session. Naidu also slammed the unruly behaviour and "threats" to deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh during the passage of the farm bills. The opposition members protested after the resolution was moved by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, leading to adjournment of the proceedings for around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, V Muraleedharan said that the members, who had been suspended, leave Parliament and not participate in its proceedings. "The suspended members have no right to be in the House. The House cannot function with the presence of non-members," said Muraleedharan. Deputy Chairman Harivansh also said, "I urge the members named by the Rajya Sabha chairman to not take part in the House proceedings." On Sunday, two significant farm bills, being described as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were passed by the Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid huge chaos by opposition members. Amidst all this, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien approached the Chair and attempted to grab a mike while citing from the rule book. As his objections were overruled, O'Brien tore the rule book and called the Bills �kala kanoon (black laws)�. Derek O'Brien was also heard telling the Chair: "You cannot do this". Despite a number of requests, many opposition members protested against the Farm Bills in the Well of the House. The members were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny. The Opposition then submitted a no-confidence motion against Harivansh Narayan Singh after he rejected pleas for postponing Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar's reply to the debate on the two farm Bills till Monday.