The Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha will convene next week to examine the suspension of three Congress members from the House during the Winter Session due to unruly behaviour. Chaired by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, the Committee will meet on January 12 to record oral evidence from the suspended Congress members — K Jayakumar, Abdul Khaleque, and Vijayakumar Vijay Vasanth. They were suspended for creating “grave disorder in the House” on December 18.

During the Winter Session of Parliament, 100 Lok Sabha members from the Opposition were suspended for bringing placards and raising slogans, demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the breach of Parliament security.

While 97 members were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, the case of Singh, Khaleque, and Vijayakumar — who had reached the presiding officer’s chair — was referred to the Privileges Committee. The suspension of these three members will continue until the Committee submits its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

In the Rajya Sabha, 46 members were suspended during the Winter Session, including 11 members whose case was referred to the Privileges Committee. The panel, chaired by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, is yet to convene a meeting to examine the suspension of the 11 members referred to it. Opposition members Jebi Mather Hisham, L Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Kumar Ketkar, G C Chandrashekhar (all Congress); Binoy Viswam and Sandosh Kumar P. (both CPI), M Mohamed Abdulla (DMK), John Brittas and A A Rahim (both CPI-M) were suspended till the House “has the benefit of the Report of the Committee of Privilege”.

TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said the Centre wants Opposition members to behave like BJP MPs Ramesh Bidhuri and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh — both of whom are facing allegations of misconduct — as 14 Opposition MPs continue to remain suspended from Parliament.

In a social media post, O’Brien, who is among the MPs suspended, took a jibe at the government and mentioned Bidhuri, accused of using a communal slur in the Lok Sabha, and Singh, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers. The accusation against Bidhuri is being looked into by a privileges committee.

“Two impeccably well-behaved Members of Parliament continue to grace the Lok Sabha -- Ramesh Bidhuri and Brij Bhushan Singh. Maybe the Modi government wants all of us in the opposition to behave like them to avoid suspension from Parliament,” O’Brien — the Trinamool Congress’ leader in the Rajya Sabha — said in the post.

While most of the Opposition MPs were suspended for the Winter session and their suspensions revoked when it was prorogued on December 29, 14 members — 11 from the Rajya Sabha and three from the Lok Sabha — remain suspended, pending a report from a privileges committee.