Eight Congress members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for what the government called “unruly behaviour”, including tearing papers and throwing them at the Chair during repeated disruptions in the House.
The action followed scenes of disorder when the Lok Sabha reconvened at 3 pm after multiple adjournments, with Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, naming eight Congress MPs for misconduct.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju moved a resolution seeking their suspension for the remainder of the Budget session, scheduled to conclude on April 2, which the House adopted by a voice vote.
The Speaker termed the incident a breach of parliamentary decorum, amid mounting confrontations between the Treasury benches and the Opposition over demands for debate on key issues.
The suspended members were Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Virudhanagar MP Manickam Tagore, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Bhongir MP Kiran Kumar Reddy, Bhandara-Gon MP Prashant Padole, Madurai MP S. Venkataraman and Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose.
The confrontations revived memories of the 2024 Winter Session, one of the most turbulent in recent parliamentary history, marked by the suspension of 146 Opposition MPs following a major security breach in the Parliament complex and the expulsion of TMC’s Mahua Moitra by the Ethics Committee.
BJP members later claimed that repeated disruptions had escalated into disorderly conduct, including papers being thrown at the presiding officer, prompting the demand for action.
Outside Parliament, Congress members led by leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi staged a protest against the suspensions, accusing the government of using its majority to stifle discussion rather than resolve disagreements on the floor of the House.
The standoff had been building since Tuesday afternoon, when Rahul Gandhi was disallowed from citing an article based on excerpts from an unpublished “memoir” of former Army chief M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.
Tensions spilled over into the Rajya Sabha as well, where members of several Opposition parties staged a walkout while demanding a discussion on the Indo-US trade deal.
The government, in response, accused them of venting frustration rather than engaging in debate.
After the Zero Hour ended, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that information on the trade deal was being received from Washington instead of Parliament.
Leader of the House J P Nadda said the government was ready to discuss the matter and would make a statement in Parliament.
He noted that the US President had announced a reduction in tariffs on Indian goods through a social media post, referring to the Prime Minister as a “true friend”. Nadda said the Opposition was reading the deal through a negative lens.
“I want to assure the house that the government is ready to discuss the Indo-US trade deal and provide all minute details of the deal, and the concerned minister will explain everything. The government will come out with a suo motu statement on the trade deal.
“But this methodology is fatal for democracy and amounts to irresponsible behaviour of the Indian National Congress and the INDI alliance,” Nadda said.
Opposition members continued raising slogans, alleging that national interests were being bartered away. Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan urged them to maintain order.
He said the government was ready to make a statement and that the Opposition should listen instead of creating an uproar.
As Opposition members crowded the aisle and moved towards the front row, the House descended into disorder. When they walked out, Nadda called their conduct “condemnable”.
