‘Deliberate design by ruling party to throttle Oppn voice’: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on his LS suspension

Calling the move by the BJP-ruled Central government 'retrogressive', Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "This will undermine the spirit of parliamentary democracy..."

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

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Two days after he was suspended for “repeated misconduct” pending an investigation by the Privileges Committee, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Saturday called the suspension “a deliberate design by the ruling party to throttle the voice of the opposition.”

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…”

Also Read | 4 in recent Session, 2 over 2 days: A look at suspension of MPs in current Parliament, since 2019

The Congress leader stated that if needed “I can approach Supreme Court as well”, adding that, “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.”

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his criticism of the INDIA alliance, Chowdhury said, “Why is Modiji opposed to the word INDIA?…There is no difference between India and Bharat….”

Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had finished his speech in the no-confidence motion debate on Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for Chowdhury’s suspension – with no one present in the Opposition Benches – accusing him of “disturbing” the House. The resolution was passed by a voice vote.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha was also suspended on Friday from the Rajya Sabha for “gross violation of rule and misconduct” pending a report by the Privileges Committee.

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On August 3, the AAP’s lone Lok Sabha MP, Sushil Kumar Rinku, was suspended “for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session” over “unruly behaviour” while the House was considering the Delhi services Bill. Rinku rushed to the Well of the House, torn some papers and threw them in the direction of Speaker Om Birla.

Earlier, on July 24, the Rajya Sabha saw the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh. This was the onset of the Session and the Opposition members had been raising slogans to demand a statement from the PM on Manipur. At one point, Singh moved closer to the Chairman’s podium, prompting Dhankhar to “name” him.

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