The Telangana muddle continued to rock Parliament, with as many as 11 MPs — nine from lok Sabha and two from Rajya Sabha (all from Andhra-Seema region) — being suspended on Monday for creating frequent disruptions in both the Houses.
The lok Sabha suspended four TDP and five Congress MPs for five days, which means they will not be able to attend the remaining part of the session that ends on September 6. The suspension along with unruly scenes and an ugly face-off between Congress and TDP members led to the House getting adjourned for the day. The Rajya Sabha suspended two TDP MPs for a day for disrupting the smooth debate on Food Security Bill.
As soon as the lok Sabha met for the day, TDP members N Kristappa, M Venugopal Reddy, KN Rao and N Sivaprasad walked into the Well to protest against the announcement to form Telangana. Sivaprasad took out a mask of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and wore it. He raised slogans for a united Andhra Pradesh.
Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh — A Sai Pratap, Anantha Venkatrami Reddy, N Rajagopal, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and K Bapi Raju — also staged protest with placards. When some Congress members were on their feet protesting against Sivaprasad wearing the mask, he removed it. TDP MPs and Congress MPs led by Sandeep Dikshit were seen engaging in heated verbal exchanges.
Speaker Meira Kumar named the nine MPs and suspended them. The Speaker then adjourned the House till 2 PM. But the House could not run as the TDP MPs stayed in the Well leading to the adjournment for the day. In Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien suspended TDP members CM Ramesh and YR Chowdhary for staying and shouting slogans from well.