New Delhi, July. 24: Amid a standoff between the government and the opposition in Parliament over the violence in Manipur, AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon session.
MP Sanjay Singh was suspended for allegedly jumping into the well of the House and shouting slogans and allegedly refused to return despite being warned by the Rajya Sabha Speaker. The suspension, at a time when the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party are in a tug-of-war over the Centre’s ordinance on bureaucratic control in Delhi, has sparked a sharp reaction from the AAP.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh is the strongest voice of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the party alleged that if it was for the BJP, it would have put him in jail. “Sanjay Singh raises slogans and the entire opposition unites. It is clear that he is a thorn in the side of the government. So the BJP will try their best to suppress his voice. But whatever they do, be it gimmicks or misuse of investigative agencies like CBI and ED, it will be difficult for the BJP government to come back to power. Let’s see what the legal department can do about it,” said AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.
Floor leaders of opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha walked out of a meeting called by Speaker Jagdeep Dhankar at 1 pm to discuss the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh. Earlier, Rajya Sabha was adjourned for an hour and when it resumed in the afternoon, the Speaker allowed the question and answer session to begin. Several opposition MPs had indicated that they had filed notices under Rule 267 seeking a lengthy debate on the violence in Manipur.
Opposition MPs have demanded that the Prime Minister should come to the House and make a statement and start the debate. President Jagdeep Dhankar allowed the question and answer session to continue. While Hydropower Minister Gajendra Shekhawat was answering questions related to his ministry, AAP MP Sanjay Singh jumped into the well of the House and started raising slogans.
Sanjay Singh was protesting against allowing the question period to continue when opposition MPs insisted on a debate under Rule 267. The President had warned them to back off. But they did not heed the warning and continued protesting shouting slogans.
Stating that this is a violation of Rajya Sabha discipline and code of conduct, Rajya Sabha Speaker Piyush Goyal urged the Speaker to take strict action against Sanjay Singh. moved a motion to suspend him, which was passed by a voice vote of the House. The President then announced Sanjay Singh’s suspension.
