‘I order Mr Derek O’Brien to leave the House’: TMC MP among 8 suspended for Rajya Sabha ruckus

TMC MP Derek O'Brien attempts to tear the rule book as ruckus erupts in the Rajya Sabha over agriculture related bills, during the ongoing Monsoon Session, at Parliament House in New Delhi, Sunday. (Photo: Screengrab @ RSTV via PTI)

Eight Rajya Sabha members, including Trinamool Congress Derek O’Brien, were on Monday suspended from the House for a week over the unprecedented ruckus during the passage of the farm bills yesterday.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also rejected the no-confidence motion against his deputy, Harivansh. The no-confidence motion was moved on the grounds that proper procedure was not followed.

While strongly condemning Sunday’s incident, Naidu told the House: “I was deeply pained by what happened yesterday. All social distancing and Covid protocols were violated. Whatever happened, defied logic. It was a bad day for the Rajya Sabha. The deputy chairman was physically threatened. I was worried for his physical well-being.”

“You have no right to obstruct the chair and the business in the House. It tarnishes the image of the House. Is it a Parliamentary standard? I suggest the members to do some introspection. If the marshals were not called on time, what would have happened?” he added.

Following this, Parliamentary Affairs Ministers read out a motion seeking suspension of eight members for the remainder of the session. Naidu put the motion to vote and it was carried by voice vote.

Besides Derek O Brien, Sanjay Singh, Raju Satav, KK Ragesh, Ripun Bora, Dola Sen, Syed Nazir Hussain and Elamaran Karim were also suspended.

On Derek’s continuous protests and sloganeering, Naidu said: “I order Mr Derek O’Brien to leave the House.”

However, opposition members protested against the decision, leading to adjournment of the proceedings for about 20 minutes. The session was further adjourned for 30 minutes as protests continued after the resumption of the House.

The House on Sunday witnessed tumultuous scenes during the passage of the contentious farm bills  — The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 —  as members from Opposition parties snatched and threw papers from the table and even broke the chairman’s mic.

The Bills, which seek to replace the two ordinances promulgated on June 5 this year and which were already cleared by the Lok Sabha, were passed by voice vote in the Upper House.

While the opposition has been protesting and demanding that the Bills be sent to a Select Committee, the ruckus erupted after Deputy Chairman Harivansh sought the members’ nod to extend the time of sitting of the House beyond 1 pm till the passage of the Bills. The opposition members demanded that the House be adjourned as per the scheduled time.

However, the Deputy Chairman continued with the proceedings of the House and asked Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to continue his response to the debate on the Bills.

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