Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday called his suspension “a deliberate design by the ruling party to throttle the voice of the opposition.”
He further expressed his willingness to explore legal avenues, including approaching the Supreme Court, against his suspension, if necessary.
In a surprise move, the Lok Sabha on Thursday, suspended the senior politician, who is the leader of the Congress in the House, for “repeated misconduct” pending an investigation by the privileges committee.
While addressing a press conference, the Congress leader stated, “This is a new phenomenon we have never before experienced in our career in Parliament…This is a deliberate design by the ruling party to throttle the voice of the opposition by resorting to various unsavoury instruments.”
Calling the move by the BJP-ruled Central government ‘retrogressive’, Chowdhury said, “This will undermine the spirit of parliamentary democracy…”
He further said, “I cannot contradict the direction of the Chair but if I find that this kind of situation could be resolved by the Court, I may also try this.”
Chowdhury also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning his opposition to the term “INDIA” in reference to the alliance. “Why is Modiji opposed to the word INDIA?… There is no difference between India and Bharat….” he said.
The suspension occurred shortly after Prime Minister Modi concluded his speech during the no-confidence motion debate. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for Chowdhury’s suspension, alleging disruption of the House. The resolution was adopted through a voice vote with no opposition members present in the benches.
Earlier, on August 3, Aam Aadmi Party’s lone Lok Sabha MP, Sushil Kumar Rinku, was suspended “for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session” over “unruly behaviour” during the Delhi Services Bill debate. He had allegedly rushed to the Well of the House, torn some papers and threw them in the direction of Speaker Om Birla.