19 Rajya Sabha MPs suspended for a week over 'unruly behaviour'

New Delhi, July 26: A total of 19 MPs were suspended from the monsoon session of the Parliament for a week for unruly behavior. The Opposition was protesting against price rises and inflation inside the House.

The MPs who are suspended are Muraleedharan, Haque, Sen, Abir Biswas, Mausam Noor, Sushmita Dev, Shanta Chhetri, Mohammad Abdullah, AA Rahim, L Yadav and V Sivadasan.

The action against the 19 Rajya Sabha MPs is expected to escalate the opposition's fury against the government over what they claim was an attempt to shut voices that question the ruling alliance.

The ruling BJP said the decision to suspend 19 opposition MPs from the Rajya Sabha was taken with a "heavy heart" as they repeatedly ignored the Chair's appeals to let the House function and infringed on other members' rights.

Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal asserted that it is not the government but the opposition that is running away from a debate in Parliament. He reiterated that the government is ready for a discussion on price rise once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman fully recovers from COVID-19 and returns to Parliament.

India has tackled inflation and price rise better than many countries, and the government is keen to inform Parliament about the important steps it has taken to handle price rise, Goyal told reporters.

He also hit out at opposition parties for protesting against the imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on several pre-labelled food items.

Four Congress members, Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, T N Prathapan and S Jothimani, were on Monday suspended for the rest of the session for protests and carrying placards inside the House.