Taking to Twitter, the TMC floor leader claimed he was suspended from Rajya Sabha while protesting the ‘mockery of Parliament and bulldozing’ of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill by the BJP
File image of Derek O’Brien. News18
The TMC’s Derek O’Brien on Tuesday was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remaining part of the Winter Session after throwing a rule book at the Chair, according to several media reports.
Sasmit Patra, who was in the Chair, said the TMC MP had raised a point of order and the deputy chairman duly responded to it. A little later, O’Brien flung the rule book furiously in the direction of the Chair, Patra observed, as per PTI.
“The rule book would have hit the chair, or secretary general or officials sitting at the table,” he said
According to PTI, The TMC MP was suspended after the House passed a motion moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan in this regard.
The TMC leader then staged a walkout from the House following other members of Opposition parties that included Congress, DMK, TMC, AAP, Shiv Sena, Left, RJD, Samajwadi Party and BSP.
Before walking out, O’Brien had said, “Sir, please understand that we have all the regard for the chair, we have all the regard for the rules, but the same thing you did on the farm laws you are doing today.”
Taking to Twitter, the TMC floor leader claimed he was suspended from Rajya Sabha while protesting the “mockery of Parliament and bulldozing” of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill by the BJP, and hoped that this bill would be repealed soon in the same way the farm laws were taken back.
‘Insult to entire country’
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal condemned the TMC leader for throwing the rule book at the Rajya Sabha secretary general’s table and said it was an insult to the entire country.
“The way TMC leader Derek O’Brien has thrown the rule book, this is not only the insult of the chair or the secretary general or the table or the House, it is an insult to the entire country,” Goyal said.
“They are doing this kind of politics in one state and if they pass on such bad traditions to the next generation, then I am afraid that there is a lot of danger to the democratic traditions of the country,” the union minister added.
“If we want to set a good precedent for the future generations, the least that they could have done is apologising for the absolutely unacceptable behaviour. Nobody becomes small by asking for forgiveness. They (Opposition members) do not have a big heart and strength,” he said.
Opposition opposes bill
The Opposition members strongly opposed the Bill and asked the government to take it back and finally staged a walkout from the House when Deputy Chairman did now allow their demand citing “the members are in the Well and division cannot be given in this situation as per rule”.
The Opposition was seeking division on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that aims to give effect to the long-pending electoral reforms including linking Aadhaar with the voter ID card.
As the Opposition did not get division, all of their members staged walkout from the House, reports ANI.
Meanwhile, with the suspension of Derek from Rajya Sabha, now the total number of suspended MPs from the House is 13.
Earlier, 12 Opposition MPs were suspended from the Rajya Sabha on 29 November for the entire Winter session of Parliament for their “unruly” conduct in the previous session in August when marshals were called after Opposition members stormed the Well of the House during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.
The suspended members comprise six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from CPI and CPM: Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and, Binoy Viswam of CPI.
All the suspended 12 MPs used to sit near Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises since they were suspended from the House, and the Opposition parties have been relentlessly disrupting House proceedings every day over the issue barring a few occasions.
The Winter session is scheduled to end on 23 December.
With inputs from agencies
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