Kerala MP withdraws from House

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP) member P C Thomas from Kerala was today forced to withdraw from Lok Sabha under threat of suspension when he kept on speaking on the issue of a new railway division in Kerala despite having been repeatedly asked by the Speaker not to do so.

Describing Mr Thomas' behaviour as ''abominable and disgusting,'' Speaker Somnath Chatterjee directed him to withdraw from the House under rule 373 for creating unnecessary ruckus.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also tried unsuccessfully to persuade him not to speak out of turn. When Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunshi personally walked across to Mr Thomas and pleaded with him to sit and not disrupt the House proceedings, the Kerala MP did not accede to his request and kept standing and speaking to the consternation of the House. The Speaker at this moment lost his temper and threatened his suspension, asking Mr Mukerjee to move a motion for it.

At the same time, the Speaker directed Mr Thomas to tender apology and withdraw not to return to the House without his permission.

While expressing regrets, Mr Thomas eventually withdrew to the relief of the House which then took up a calling attention motion.

UNI