by NEW DELHI: : Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’Brien was suspended from Rajya Sabha on Tuesday for the remaining days of the winter session for ‘unruly behaviour’ of hurling rule book at the Chair. With this, the total number of members suspended from Rajya Sabha goes up to 13. The session is to conclude on December 23.
This comes on a day when the opposition staged a walkout over a bill on electoral reforms to link voters’ cards with Aadhaar. The opposition wanted a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the proposed law to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote. The TMC MP was suspended after he allegedly threw the Rule Book at the direction of the Chair during a discussion on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Before adjourning the proceedings for the day, Sasmit Patra, who was in the Chair, condemned the behaviour of O’Brien. A motion for his suspension was moved by the government and approved with voice vote. It said O’Brien has been suspended “from the services of the House for the remaining part of the current session for his unruly and contemptuous behaviour, unbecoming of a member of Rajya Sabha, by brazenly throwing the Rajya Sabha Rule book towards the Chair… thereby bringing disrepute and shame to the august House”.
Taking to Twitter, O’Brien said he has been suspended for protesting against BJP which was “making a mockery” of Parliament by “bulldozing” the electoral reforms bill, hoping it will also be repealed soon. “The last time I got suspended from RS was when govt. was BULLDOZING #FarmLaws,” the TMC leader tweeted. “We all know what happened after that.”
This comes on a day when the opposition staged a walkout over a bill on electoral reforms to link voters’ cards with Aadhaar. The opposition wanted a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the proposed law to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote. The TMC MP was suspended after he allegedly threw the Rule Book at the direction of the Chair during a discussion on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Before adjourning the proceedings for the day, Sasmit Patra, who was in the Chair, condemned the behaviour of O’Brien. A motion for his suspension was moved by the government and approved with voice vote. It said O’Brien has been suspended “from the services of the House for the remaining part of the current session for his unruly and contemptuous behaviour, unbecoming of a member of Rajya Sabha, by brazenly throwing the Rajya Sabha Rule book towards the Chair… thereby bringing disrepute and shame to the august House”.
Taking to Twitter, O’Brien said he has been suspended for protesting against BJP which was “making a mockery” of Parliament by “bulldozing” the electoral reforms bill, hoping it will also be repealed soon. “The last time I got suspended from RS was when govt. was BULLDOZING #FarmLaws,” the TMC leader tweeted. “We all know what happened after that.”
The last time I got suspended from RS was when govt. was BULLDOZING #FarmLaws We all know what happened after tha… https://t.co/TkU77jri4S
— Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) 1640090605000
