Leaders of 12 opposition parties condemn Centre over suspension of Rajya Sabha members

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Leaders of 12 opposition parties on Monday condemned the government for bringing a motion that led to the suspension of 12 members of Rajya Sabha for their unruly behaviour during the last parliamentary session.

The opposition leaders termed the suspension as "unwarranted and undemocratic”, and alleged that the action is in violation of all rules and procedures of the Upper House.

"The leaders of the opposition parties unitedly condemn the unwarranted and undemocratic suspension of 12 members in violation of all the Rules of Procedure of Rajya Sabha pertaining to suspension of members for the entire duration of the Winter session,” the joint statement signed by leaders of the opposition parties said.

"The motion moved by the Government for suspending the members in regard to the unfortunate incident that occurred in the previous session is unprecedented and violates the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha)," it said.

The signatories of the joint statement are Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and members of the Congress, DMK, SP, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, IUML, LJD, JDS, MDMK, TRS and AAP.

Meanwhile, floor leaders of the opposition parties of Rajya Sabha will meet on Tuesday to deliberate on the future course of action to resist the "authoritarian decision" of the government and defend parliamentary democracy, the statement further said.

Twelve opposition members in Rajya Sabha, including Congress MP Chhaya Verma, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and TMC’s Dola Sen were on Monday suspended for the remaining part of the winter session for their misconduct and unruly behaviour during the last session.

Among the suspended members, six are from the Congress, two each from the TMC and Shiv Sena and one each from the CPM and the CPI.