In an embarrassment for the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, eight Congress MPs from Telangana were suspended for four days from the Lok Sabha for repeatedly indulging in bouts of slogan-shouting and unruly behaviour that disrupted the proceedings of the House as the second part of the budget session of Parliament resumed on Tuesday after a three-week recess.
The suspension from “the service of the House” came after a motion moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal sought the unprecedented action against them.
The MPs were demanding that a separate Telangana State be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. They forced three adjournments.
The action was taken by the ruling Congress against its own Lok Sabha members — Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Goud Yaskhi, Manda Jagannath, Gutha Sukhender Reddy, K.R.G. Reddy, Rajaiah Siricilla, Porika Balram Naik, and Dr. Gaddam Vivekanand — as the motion moved by Mr. Bansal was carried by a voice vote. Francisco Sardinha, who was in the Chair, had warned the MPs of action if they failed to return to their seats.
Besides, Mr. Bansal, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and several other leaders tried to persuade them to return to their seats but to no avail. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee were present when the protests took place.
“I have received your notice. I will allow you to raise the issue during zero hour. Let the question hour continue,'' Speaker Meira Kumar told the agitating members who sought suspension of question hour.
As the MPs continued to raise slogans, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon.
When the House met at noon, a similar scene prevailed, though important papers were tabled and zero hour was taken up for sometime before the Speaker adjourned the House until 2 p.m.
Even as the House reassembled after two adjournments, the eight trooped inside the well holding placards and posters, supporting a separate State and chanting slogans like “We Want Telangana.” They continued to stage a sit-in protest in the well, forcing half-an-hour adjournment of the House. As the MPs refused to move out of the well even after the House reassembled at 2.30 p.m., Mr. Sardinha adjourned the House for the day.
Observers said that it was perhaps the first time in recent times that members of the ruling party were suspended from either House of Parliament.
Keywords: Lok Sabha, budget session, Telangana agitation
@Prasad RV:Hydeabad city is geographically located in Telangana region.It is built with sweat and labour of Telangana people.To advance any claim on it by "Seemabdhra people" is as absurd as their claim of yesteryears on Chennai.My'Arab and his Camel' story only exposes false claims made by people not belonging to Telangana region.
i don't understand why congress is not ready to discuss about Telangana
in parliament where nearly hundred of students has given their
lifes..there should be common sense for UPA govt. i Think if Telangana
is not formed then people will funeral congress party in Telangana......
Disruption of Parliament in India has become a routine. So many of the
finance matters are passed when the opposition parties walk out of the
Parliament without a discussion.Does anyone remember why the Lokpal
bill was not passed in the Rajya Sabha? The present suspension appears
to be a one of its kind. There is no parrallel in the history of
Parliament. The ruling party has no time to give attention to
democratic demands of people who elected the members that constitute
the ruling party. It promises to take a decision after this festival
or that festival or this bye-election or that bye election and a
decision is prolonged for years testing the patience of the people. Is
this a demicratic behaviour. And when frustrated people act in the
only way left, they are suspended. Now the best way left for the
suspended MPs is to RESIGN AND STAND FOR REELECTION on their demand
for a separate state.
The suspension of eight Congress MPs from Telangana is not only embarrassment
for the Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi but also a sense of shame for back tracking the official promise made by Congress on Dec. 09, 2009 to the effect of carving out separate Telangana. On the five decades of separate Telangana issue, Congress is digging its own grave, and 100 per cent sure to be wiped out from AP, as evident from its total defeat in two consecutive elections .
@Sangath: thanks for the extra context. I want to clarify that I have no support for the way the government at the Centre now deals with various problems that are besetting the nation at large, and that I have little confidence that it can be depended upon to resolve various claims to autonomy/statehood/independence responsibly and fairly. Telengana is one issue, Kashmir is another, The North East yet another. BUT is disruption without a long-term plan of order and responsible government the way forward? I am for peace & order above all.
@Gajanan Taman: I do not think "some people suddenly woke up and started lecturing on how elected representative should coduct themselves in the house" just because this furore is over Telengana. It could have been Kashmir, it could have been Ayodhya, or any other 'burning' issue. The blow has to fall sometime. Will you be satisfied if other misbehaving representatives from other States are punished too? Perhaps all governments need putting in order!
Please understand clearly, a separate Telangana state without HYD city
is very easily possible and no one is objecting to that. While the
demand for a separate state is justified in their own way of the
people of Telangana, likewise the concerns of other regions regarding
HYD are also justified. No one is wrong here, everyone is right in
their demands and justifications. The solution is to separate out HYD
and make the rest of the area as a separate Telangana. The demand for
separate Telangana if it is linked with HYD and does not address the
concerns of other regions, will be unfair. Let everyone agree for a
separate Telangana without HYD and keep HYD as a separate area and not
belonging to any region. Let us find solutions, not just
confrontations, endless agitations and going nowhere.
Is this the first instance when an M P or MP's caused disruption in the house attracting suspension? Simply because they are from Telangana, some people suddenly woke up and started lecturing on how elected representative should coduct themselves in the house. Some expressed their great grief over the wastage of taxpayers' money. The real reason is they are against the demand for statehood. Are young peoples lives less important? Must every issue be viwed from fiscal angle?
@DB, I guess you have never followed Telangana agitation through news papers atleast. I dont want to start from 50's when it initially started before many us were born, but atleast if you google for Telangana agitation news from UPA 1 you can see the promises made by congress in their manifesto, Soniya's and ex CM YSR remarks during election rally, Kalam's speech in parliament, Chidambarams statement in 2009. Winning 12 seats in Telangana region is a significant number in a coalition government.All these years congress reps were working through backdoor channels waiting in queue for madams darshan. If all these highest decision making people cannot keep their assurances suggest just one good way to show their anguish. TRS has already taken their own way of disrupting common mans life at their will. Nevertheless, even if the parliament functions it would be disrupted due latest scandals.
Why can the public not distinguish between actions and activism for Telengana and disruption of proper functioning of Parliament or State assemblies? Telengana can be gained in a dignified way without damaging the rest of the daily proces of running the country, can it not? As citizens we should support what speaks for us, but also support a strong and functioning body of elected representatives. Tantrums and violence are childish ways, or is that the color of Indian politics at all state levels now?
Emotion and stakes are high on both sides. I feel division of state is going create political rehabilation for some leaders, emotional satisfaction for some, finacial gain or lose for some vested interest. Can any one tell me, what way, it is going to benefit common man with their basic needs?
I think the Speaker has taken correct action by suspending
8 Cong MPs for disrupting the proceedings of the house.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman Rajya Sabha
should punish the MPs irrespective of their political
affiliation who ever disrupting the house.The disruptions become routine in both the houses almost every working day even for a silly reasons.The tax payers money is being wasted for silly reasons.The MPs of both the houses should refrain from such un-wanted
actions which is against the Parliamentary democracy.
The suspension of TELANGANA MPS is very bad. 9 th dec 2009 why the
central govt issue the announce about on Telangana. Now the congress
party was doing one of big mistake. Next election how they were faced
and get the good results from telangana area.
Form Telangana State from Andhra so that 120 Telangana MLAs can spend Rs.40000 crores on Telangana Development every year. Currently 170 Coastal Andhra MLAs in assembley vote for spending Rs.100000 crores in Coastal Andhra with brutal majority. Seperation is only solution for better management of state and resources. Let 4 crore Telanagana people atleast progress after 60 years of indpendence. Telangana people should reject Manmohan Singh, Sonia , TDP and anti telangana parties as 700 students have already sacrificed their lives.Invite US and UK to put pressure on Central and State Govt and even go to UN for oppression of people in Telangana.
As always, congress attacks the non important issue and ignored the sentiments of people of telangana. What important facts are there to discuss in this country parliament when it cannot discuss the suicides of 900+ young people, are they not part of this country?
If there anything important tham the lifes of the innocent young minds who have a demand on thier hands and requesting for a debate... SURPRISED to note that this issue is burning since 3 years and WHAT A PATHETIC STORY WE HAVE ON HANDS THAT WE COULD NOT DISCUSS THE MATTER IN THE COUNTER APEX BODY.... this is the same that we have to bear as the fellow country men. TODAY'S ACT HAS PROVEN THAT POLITICS ARE NOT FOR PEOPLE AND ARE ONLY FOR POLITICS MOTIVES....
@phaniprasad It's not just about backwardness, it's a lot more than
that - to mention the most primitive of reasons, I never got a proper
explanation as to why the Telugu film industry continues to portray
the Telangana dialect in a negative way, even at the heights of the
the statehood movement. Did you bother to do something about it?
@Vivek Joseph - You don't seem to understand that the leaders who were
expelled were only representing the resentment of the people of their
constituencies, and rightly so! By going against their party high-
command, and following the diktat of the people who voted them to
power, they did what they were voted to power for! It is ironic that
people consider Bhagat Singh to be a hero, but deplore leaders of
today who fight for justice on the same lines!
When there is such a strong demand for a separate state from the people,
it is absolutely foolish to still keep harping for a united state. All
the political parties want is the number of seats in the LS and all the
calculations are made with that in view. BUT NO ONE CARES FOR WHAT THE
PEOPLE WANT. Congress keeps doing such things and it is its FUNERAL in
Telangana.
This is only a prelude to expel 40 odd opposition MPs.
One sincerely hopes that the media, which is very quick with its
calculators in working out how much loss the BJP/Opposition causes each
time the proceedings are stalled, will be as conscious of the loss that
the ruling party has caused to the public, to say nothing of the loss of
face.
The congress MP's from Telangana, You people are the real leaders who are fighting, at least with this the the congress party should fullfill its promise to people of telangana by formation a state for telangana.
Another farce to fool the ever gullible Indian public. 4 days! And what about the salaries and other numerous emoluments during the suspension period? I am dead sure they will all be paid as usual.
Backwardness is there in all three regions in the state in general and in all other states in particular. Instead of wasting their energy of a seperate statehood, these representatives ean put their efforts to develop their constituencies, by this time it is sure there will be a chnge in peoples lifes.
With political motivation this kind of seperatist act. Shame.
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