Winter Session: Why 12 Opposition MPs were suspended and what the rules say

The suspended MP's staged a protest sat near the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament campus on December 1.

The Winter Session of Parliament began on November 29 on a stormy note as both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the Bill to repeal the three contentious farm laws amid protests by Opposition members, who were demanding a discussion on the Bill, among other things.

The same day, 12 Opposition Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs), including six from the Congress party, were suspended from the remainder of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. The Opposition has called the suspension “unprecedented excessive action”. On November 30, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused to revoke the suspension.

Here is a primer on why the members were suspended and what the rules say:

Why were the 12 Rajya Sabha members suspended?

The 12 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended after the House approved a motion moved by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi.

READ: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejects request to revoke suspension of 12 Opposition MP’s

The punishment was for “unprecedented acts of misconduct” and “violent behaviour” in the Monsoon Session of Parliament earlier this year.

The suspended MPs are the Congress party’s Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, R Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain, and Akhilesh Prasad Singh; Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M); Binoy Viswam of the CPI; Dola Sen and Shanta Chhetri of the TMC; and Priyanka Chaturvedi and Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena.

“The House takes cognisance and strongly condemns the utter disregard to the authority of the Chair, complete abuse or rules of the House persistently, thereby wilfully obstructing the business of the House through their unprecedented acts of misconduct, contemptuous, unruly and violent behaviour and intentional attack on security personnel on the last day of the Monsoon Session on August 11, 2021,” read the motion passed by Joshi and passed by a voice vote amid protests by the Opposition.

What happened in the Monsoon Session of Parliament?

The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which was marred by protests by the Opposition, concluded with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourning sine die on August 11, two days ahead of the scheduled conclusion.

Also, read: "I spent sleepless night," says Rajya Sabha Chairman as he breaks down while condemning Opposition's ruckus

The Session, which began on July 19, saw Opposition members stall proceedings in both the Houses demanding discussions on the Pegasus Project Report, farmers' agitation, and price rise.

The motion by the government has accused the members of unruly conduct in the Rajya Sabha 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.

A number of Opposition MPs, at least 20 according to some reports, climbed on the officials' table, waved black cloth and threw files while the session was on. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu broke down while condemning the ruckus before the session concluded.

What does the Opposition say?

The Opposition has called the action “undemocratic” and “unprecedented”. The Opposition parties, except the TMC, issued a joint statement saying that the action was “in violation of all the Rules of Procedure of the Rajya Sabha pertaining to suspension of members for the entire duration of the Winter Session”.

Also, read: Lok Sabha productivity drops to 22 percent, 76 hours lost to disruptions in Rajya Sabha in Monsoon Session

“The members were denied any opportunity to present their case. One of the suspended members was never referred to in the bulletin dated August 11, 2021,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu after the latter refused to revoke the suspension on November 30.

What do the rules say?

MPs have to follow certain established parliamentary customs, conventions, etiquette and rules, both inside the House as well as outside it.

The suspension of members in the Lok Sabha is governed by rule 374 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha. The suspension in the Rajya Sabha is, however, governed by Rule 256 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha.

“The Chairman may, if he deems it necessary, name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing the business thereof,” reads rule 256 for the Rajya Sabha.

The powers of Presiding Officers

According to the ‘Rules of Conduct and Etiquette’, the presiding officers of both Houses have some powers. They can direct lawmakers to withdraw from the House for disorderly conduct. The member then has to remain absent from the proceedings of the House for the rest of the day. The presiding officers are also empowered to name an MP for “persistently and wilfully obstructing the business” of the House.

Also, read: No record of farmers' deaths during protest; question doesn't arise for compensation, Govt tells Parliament

“If a member is so named by the Chairman he shall forthwith put the question on a motion being made — no amendment, adjournment or debate being allowed — that the member (naming him) be suspended from the service of the Council for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session,” reads the Rajya Sabha rule.

The motion is usually moved by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. The House may, however, by another motion, terminate the suspension, as well.

Since 2001, the thirteenth Lok Sabha, a new rule under 374A empowers the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to automatically suspend an MP for a maximum of five days for disrupting the business of the House. The rule was used in 2015 by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to suspend 25 Congress MPs.

Blast from the past.

Rule 256 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business has been used at least 13 times in the past to suspend 26 members in the Rajya Sabha since 1963, according to a report in The Indian Express

The first instance of a member disrupting the house and facing reprimand dates back to February 18, 1963, when a member of the Upper House interrupted President S Radhakrishnan address in the Central Hall and walked out.

“I am very sorry that you behave like this. Your behaviour is an indignity to the whole House, ” the Chairman (S Radhakrishnan) remarked, according to a document on Rajya Sabha website.

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At least 63 MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha over the discussion of the Thakar Commission report in 1989.  In 2015, the Lok Sabha Speaker suspended 25 Congress members leading to a government-opposition confrontation. Seven Congress members were suspended on March 5, 2020, for unruly behaviour in the Lok Sabha.