Paving the way for passage of the Food Bill, lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday dramatically cracked the whip by suspending 12 agitating Members of Parliament from Andhra region.
The Speaker’s action came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath informed her that the Government was “not pressing” the motion to suspend the MPs. The MPs are now debarred from entering the House for five consecutive sittings.
As soon as the House Assembled at 12:30, after the two adjournments caused by the agitating MPs, the Speaker named the eight Congress and fourTDP MPs for suspension under Rule 374(A) of Rules of Procedure of the lok Sabha. She then immediately adjourned the House for the day.
As per the rule, after being named by the Speaker a member stands "automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less."
The rule also states that provided that the House may, at any time, on a motion being made, resolve that such suspension be terminated.
The rule regarding automatic suspension is applied in the event of "grave disorder occasioned by a member coming into the Well of the House or abusing the rules of the House persistently and willfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans."
According to sources, the Speaker had consultations with leaders of the parties on the decision. None of the leaders supported voting on the Government's motion for suspending the colleagues. Most of the floor leaders agreed to the Speaker's decision in the morning meeting, before the House assembled at 11am.
This is the second instance of suspension of members in the present lok Sabha. More than a year back, eight pro-Telangana Congress members had been suspended from the House for similar reasons. Announcing the action, the Speaker told the erring members, "You may forthwith withdraw from the precincts of the House."
The members, who were named, are A Sai Prathap, Anantha Venkatarami Reddy, l Raja Gopal, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, V Aruna Kumar, G V Harsha Kumar, Bapi Raju Kanumuru, Sabbam Hari (all Congress), Modugula Venugopala Reddy, Niramalli Sivaprasad, Nimalla Kristappa and Konakalla Narayana Rao (all TDP). Soon after the Speaker's announcement, TDP MPs began a sit-in in the Well of the House saying that they won't leave the House. Their sit-in went on till the evening.
The names of Bapi Raju Kanumuru and Sabbam Hari - both from Congress - did not figure in the Government's aborted motion. According to politicians from Andhra Pradesh, Congress MPs from Andhra-Seema region were eager to be in the suspension list to gain political mileage gained by TDP MPs, for objecting to the bifurcation of the State. This was the reason for adding two more Congress MPs to the list of suspended MPs.
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