After revocation of suspension, Congress MPs insist protest was for Opposition rights, question Speaker

NEW DELHI: After the revocation of their suspension on Tuesday, Congress MPs insisted that their “dignified” protest was for the demand that leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members be given the right to speak in Parliament.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “Parliamentary traditions and rules must apply equally to everyone and not selectively to Opposition MPs. The Lakshman Rekha must include maintaining the dignity of the Leader of Opposition.”

He said the opposition MPs protested only after LoP was not allowed to speak on the motion of thanks to the President and then representatives of 240 Opposition MPs were also “silenced”.

Amarinder Raja Warring, another MP who was suspended, said the suspension period was too long. “We feel there is discrimination in the house. There is no equality. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is given an opportunity whenever he wants. There is a free mandate for Nishikant, Anurag Thakur, Ravneet Bittu, but there is no free mandate for LoP. The Speaker sometimes discriminates, he makes biased decisions, and we feel bad,” he said.

Following the withdrawal of their suspension on Tuesday afternoon, MPs Tagore, Warring, Hibi Eden, Prashant Padole, Kiran Reddy, Gurjeet Aujla, Dean Kuriakose paid obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue in the Parliament complex.

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