New Delhi, March 17 The Lok Sabha on Tuesday immediately reinstated eight opposition members who had been suspended from the House on February 3 for "disruptive" behaviour, with Speaker Om Birla emphasizing that there should be no display of placards, posters, photos, or AI-generated images inside the House or within the Parliament complex.
Congress member K Suresh requested the House to consider the reinstatement of the eight opposition members, stating that what had transpired in the House was regrettable, and that his party was ready to cooperate in the smooth functioning of the House.
Following the submissions by several opposition members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that there was a need to establish clear guidelines for the smooth functioning of the House, which was agreed upon by both the treasury and opposition benches.
Speaker Birla said that it is necessary to ensure that no placards, posters, photos, or AI-generated images are displayed inside the House or within the Parliament complex.
Birla stated that everyone believes that proceedings in the Parliament of the world's largest democracy should be smooth, and that everyone should cooperate.
Rijiju then moved a motion to remove the suspension of seven Congress MPs and one CPI-M member, which was adopted by a voice vote.
The suspended MPs were Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole, and Dean Kuriakose of the Congress, and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M).
The eight MPs were suspended on February 3 for “disruptive” behaviour following a resolution passed by the Lok Sabha during the first half of the ongoing Budget session.
They were suspended for the entire duration of the Budget session, scheduled to conclude on April 2.
Earlier, after Suresh's submission, Samajwadi Party member Dharmendra Yadav supported the move, stating that his party was ready to cooperate in maintaining the highest standards of Parliament.
“I want to assure the House that we will not do anything that discredits the House. But the members of the ruling alliance should also behave properly,” Yadav said, referring to BJP's Nishikant Dubey, whom he asked to “correct himself”.
Dubey immediately refuted Yadav, stating that during his 17 years in Parliament, he has never done anything that disrespected the House.
The BJP MP also demanded an apology from the Samajwadi Party MP for his remarks.
NCP leader Supriya Sule said that both ruling and opposition members should make efforts to ensure that the House functions smoothly.
“No one should make any personal comments on anyone. We (the opposition) should respect the treasury benches, and they should also respect us. There should be clear guidelines, which no one should breach,” she said.
JD-U leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said that the House should function smoothly, and that both sides should cooperate.
Rijiju said that the ruling alliance members will not violate rules, and that they have never done so in the past.
“Clear guidelines should be established. People did not elect us to disrupt House proceedings or stage protests. The House should function smoothly with everyone's cooperation,” Rijiju said.
Suresh said that since Monday, the opposition members have not displayed any placards or banners, and that they are ready to cooperate in the proper functioning of the House.