Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien was suspended on Thursday for the remainder of the Winter Parliament Session for “gross misconduct” and “defiance of the Chair” during the proceedings.
Adopting the motion of suspension, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the TMC MP is disrupting the proceeding and permitted the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to table a motion regarding this incident.
The motion arose after Derek O’Brien engaged in a face-off with the Rajya Sabha chairman amidst slogans being chanted by opposition MPs over yesterday’s security breach in the Lok Sabha.
This incident took place during the ninth day of the Winter Session of the Parliament when O’Brien sought a discussion on a security breach incident involving individuals who jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha, releasing yellow smoke canisters, along with other opposition MPs.
They shouted slogans and demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s reply. Dhankhar condemned the “unruly behaviour” of the MPs, saying it violated the rules. At this point, the TMC MP moved into the Well in front of the Chair.
This angered Dhankhar, who named O’Brien and said he should leave the House. A person named by the Chair has to withdraw from the proceedings for the day. Dhankhar also called Derek O’Brien’s conduct a “defiance” of the Chair and “serious misconduct”.
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Upon being named and asked to leave the House by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, O’Brien and some opposition members persisted in protesting, demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s presence to address the security breach.
Subsequently, the Upper House adopted a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to suspend O’Brien for the remainder of the session.
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Responding to the suspension, Trinamool MP Dola Sen, outside Parliament, also urged action against BJP MP Pratap Simha for reportedly assisting one of the accused individuals in obtaining a visitor pass for Parliament.
“Why is the Ethics Committee quiet on this? Pratap Simha who is a BJP MP, why is he not being expelled? We seriously want to know if the security of parliamentarians is compromised then what will happen to the people of the country? The Home Minister did not even give a statement on this. TMC needs a proper investigation” Dola Sen said.
The motion to suspend O’Brien was adopted through a voice vote, and the chairman announced his suspension from the House for the remainder of the session. Dhankhar then adjourned the proceedings until 2 pm as opposition members protested the suspension.