Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar declared that Sanjay Singh is suspended after a motion proposed by the Union minister (as well as the Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha) Piyush Goel was approved.
The senior leader of the AAP was also reprimanded by the RS chairman and Vice President Dhankar earlier after he continuously protested against the central government’s bill to replace the ordinance regarding control over services in Delhi. Previously, while protesting against the farm laws in 2020, Sanjay Singh was among the 8 MPs suspended from the Rajya Sabha as they were found practising ‘unparliamentary’ behaviour.
Vice President Dhankar had asked Mr Singh to take his seat. Later, he had named Singh, cautioning him for his ‘unruly behaviour’. Union Minister Goyal, while bringing forward the motion to suspend the AAP MP, stated that the behaviour shown by Singh was disturbing the house and was entirely against the rules of the House. Due to the continuous disobeying of the chair’s instructions, Singh was suspended for the entire monsoon season, causing him to miss the rest of the session.
Member of Parliament, Aam Aadmi Party Sanjay Singh and members from several other opposition parties have been asking Prime Minister Modi to make a statement on the Manipur issue. They have also demanded the government hold a detailed discussion on the issue. While the government agreed to a short discussion, the opposition party members have submitted notice under Rule 267 for the business of the House to be suspended.
In regards to the Rajya Sabha, Rule 267 states that any member can move the House for the suspension of any business listed before the Council. It has to be done with the consent of the Chairman and if passed, the motion would provide for any rule in question to be suspended.
The Rule holds that only the Chairman has the power to give consent for moving a motion under this category. Further, it will be up to the House to decide whether the rule in question should be suspended or not.
Hence, under this rule, any Member of Parliament of the Rajya Sabha can give a notice to the Chairperson requesting a discussion on important issues that demand public attention while putting the listed business aside for the time being.
However, the Rule 267 is rarely accepted by the Chairman of the House. November 2016 was the last time when it was accepted by Md Hamid Ansari to discuss demonetisation. Following the suit, VP Dhankar refused to accept the notice submitted by more than 11 MPs from 8 opposition parties.
The House approved the motion on the suspension of Sanjay Singh with a show of hands and with a voice vote. After it was approved, the House was adjourned until 2 PM but the opposition members continued to engage in causing uproar.
Reacting to the latest happenings, another Aam Aadmi Party member Raghav Chadha gave a statement calling the suspension wrong and against the spirit of democracy. He said that the opposition party members went to the chambers of the Chairman after the adjournment of the house and requested him to reconsider the decision.
The ongoing violence in Manipur between the Kukis and the Meiteis has resulted in several unfortunate incidents of murder, rape, and arson. The recent case of the two-month-old video of two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted making rounds on the internet has sent the entire state down a spiral, causing many to demand answers from the central government.
