Adhir bags suspension from Lok Sabha with metaphors on Modi
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, August 10: Possibly in one of its kind incident, leader of the main Opposition party – Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury – was suspended from the Lok Sabha after the House adopted a resolution moved by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi. The resolution claimed that Chowdhury had made insulting remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The resolution was moved in the absence of the Congress MPs who had staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha after 90-minute of the speech of the prime minister. They had walked out while claiming that the prime minister refused to speak on the issue of the Manipur violence. But Modi spoke on Manipur in the last leg of his speech.
Speaking to reporters outside parliament, Chowdhury argued that he had used metaphors to explain the prevailing situations in Manipur. “I made no personal remarks against the prime minister. Nirav means silence. The prime minister has been silent on the issue of the Manipur violence,” said Chowdhury.
As per the resolution, adopted by voice vote by the Lok Sabha in the presence of the prime minister, Chowdhury will now be probed by the House privilege committee on his alleged acts of misdemeanor in the Lok Sabha. On Joshi’s demand, Chowdhury’s remarks were immediately expunged from the records of the House on the ruling of Speaker Om Birla.
This week only Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien was also suspended from the Rajya Sabha for allegedly disturbing the proceedings of the House. In the last few sessions a number of the Opposition MPs have been suspended upon the resolution moved by the parliamentary affairs minister.
There appears no record for several years that leader of the main Opposition party would have been suspended from the House. In his reply to the debate on the motion of no confidence against his government, Modi had taken swipe at Chowdhury, wondering why he as leader of the main Opposition party didn’t initiate the discussion. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi had initiated the discussion on the motion on the first day of the debate, while former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had spoken on the second day. Chowdhury spoke ahead of Modi’s reply on the last day of the debate.
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