BJP, Akalis, Congress ganged up to suppress my voice: Bhagwant Mann

Chandigarh, Jul 25: Hours after Bhagwant Mann was barred from attending the Monsoon session till a decision is taken on the Parliament videography issue, the AAP MP accused BJP, Congress and Akali Dal of joining hands to "suppress his voice" in view of the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls.

He claimed he has been "barred" from raising issues of public by being not allowed to attend the House proceedings.

He said the "grand alliance" of BJP, Congress and Akalis has hatched a "conspiracy against me as I am very active in the House and raise issue of the public". "It has happened in the wake of Punjab polls," he claimed.

Notably, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said Mann's videography of the Parliament House complex had put its security "in peril" and asked him not to attend the House till a decision is taken on the matter by a nine-member committee she set up to probe the issue.

The panel, chaired by BJP's Kirit Somaiya, has been asked to submit its report by August 3, while Mann has time till tomorrow morning to submit his explanation to the panel.

"With this decision, it means that I cannot raise issues of public till August 3. They could have told me to appear before the committee and allowed me to attend the House to raise issues of the public. Attending the Session in Parliament is my right. They have encroached upon the rights of lakh of people," he said.

However, Mann said he will follow the "orders" of the Speaker. "But I should be allowed to put my side as well," he said.

The AAP MP said the members of the panel are the same people who have been making hue and cry over this issue and have been demanding his suspension. He further claimed he had tendered a written apology and maintained that by making the video, he did not intend to compromise the security of the Parliament.

"I just wanted to apprise people about the process of selection of question in the Parliament because people used to ask us why their questions are not raised. I wanted to show them the questions to be asked are selected through lucky draw. It was an educational video," Mann said.

He also accused his political opponents of diverting the issue from the "atrocities" on Dalits. "Akalis never raised issue of farmer suicide, they never spoke on unemployment and suddenly they have shown concern about security," he said.

In the nearly 12-minute video that he had shared live on Facebook, Mann filmed his vehicle crossing security barricades and entering Parliament. However, he later deleted the video.

PTI