New Delhi: Eight MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, February 3, for “unruly behaviour” amid escalating confrontations between the government and the Opposition over multiple issues, including Rahul Gandhi being denied permission to cite excerpts from former army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir on the 2020 India-China conflict and sharp criticism of the Centre over newly announced India-US and EU trade deals.
Seven Congress MPs and one Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) member were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session, which ends on April 2, after they tore papers and threw them at the Chair during repeated disruptions in the House.
The Opposition has also been protesting President Donald Trump’s announcement of an India-US trade deal and the alleged demolition drive at the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.
When the House met at 3 pm after multiple adjournments on Tuesday, Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named the eight members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then moved a resolution seeking their suspension for the rest of the session, which was passed by a voice vote before proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar.
The suspended MPs are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose of the Congress and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M).
Moving the resolution, Rijiju said the members had acted in utter disregard of the House and the authority of the Chair, alleging that they tore papers, tried to climb on to the table of the Secretary General and hurled documents at the presiding officer.
Outside Parliament, Congress members led by Rahul Gandhi staged a protest against the suspensions, while other Opposition MPs said the suspended legislators would continue to demonstrate in the precincts.
Since Monday afternoon, February 2, the Lok Sabha has witnessed repeated disruptions after Gandhi was disallowed from referring to an article based on excerpts from Naravane’s unpublished book on the 2020 standoff with China.
US-India trade deal under spotlight
The Congress, meanwhile, stepped up its attack on the government over trade negotiations with the United States and the European Union, demanding that Parliament be taken into confidence on the details of the agreements.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “completely surrendered” to appease President Donald Trump at the cost of India’s farmers, and said that from the information released by the US leader, “India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events.”
He urged the government to table the texts of both the EU and US trade deals in Parliament for debate, particularly after the US Secretary of Agriculture claimed that India had liberalised agricultural imports.
Members of several Opposition parties also staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha over the issue, while MPs, including Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh, Randeep Surjewala, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Jha protested in the Parliament premises, alleging that farmers’ interests had been compromised.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said clarity was needed as only President Trump’s statements and posts were available so far.
He questioned claims that India would purchase USD 500 billion worth of US goods and open its agricultural markets, arguing that such figures carried “very significant political implications for India’s farmers.”
In a post on X, the Congress said India had the right to know the details of the trade agreement and sought answers on reports of agricultural market access, oil imports and other conditions.
Modi welcomes US-India trade deal
President Trump said on Monday, February 2, that India and the US had agreed to a trade deal, while Prime Minister Modi welcomed the development, saying he was delighted that “made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent.”The developments come days after India and the European Union sealed a free trade agreement on January 27, billed as the “mother of all deals,” aimed at creating a market of 2 billion people.
(With inputs from PTI)
