New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Congress MPs whose suspension from the Lok Sabha was revoked on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the party leadership and Speaker Om Birla for the decision, while asserting that they would continue to raise their voice against what they described as “discrimination” towards the opposition in Parliament.

The suspension of eight opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha was withdrawn on Tuesday after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a proposal in the House. The decision followed an expression of “regret” from the Congress leadership over the conduct of some of its members.

The suspended MPs included Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, S. Venkatesh and Dean Kuriakose, all of whom belong to the Congress party.

The eight legislators were suspended on February 3 for the remainder of the Budget Session after they were accused of disrupting the proceedings and throwing papers towards the Chair during a heated exchange in the House.

Reacting to the development, Congress MP Manickam Tagore told reporters that the suspension had effectively erased their participation in parliamentary proceedings for several days.

“All these 15 working days, our zero hours went off. All the discussions, which we had been allowed, 377, all of those have been removed. No records of us have been disallowed. Our only thing was that the opposition’s voice was not allowed to be heard. That is why we protested,” he said.

Tagore further argued that the suspension also silenced the electorate that the MPs represent.

He also questioned the approach towards opposition members in the House.

“In the Parliament, only the punishment for the opposition cannot be the right way. There are ruling party members who spoke ill of the former Prime Ministers, the House, and provided wrong information about the members. Our voices have not been allowed, our Leader of Opposition’s mic was switched off. Who will be responsible for that?” Tagore asked.

Congress MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also thanked the Speaker but called for equal treatment in parliamentary functioning.

Speaking to IANS, Warring said, “I want to thank the Speaker, but I also want to say: please do not discriminate against us, and do not suppress our voice. Sometimes it feels like only Nishikant Dubey, Anurag, and Bittu own Parliament. They get time everywhere; during Zero Hour, Point of Order, and Supplementary Questions, while we are allotted only 15 minutes. We will keep the rules under consideration, but they also need to follow the rules.”

Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla also expressed appreciation for the resolution of the issue.

“We thank our leadership for taking our stand to the Speaker. A proper agreement was reached in the House today, and the suspension has been withdrawn. We also extend our gratitude to the Speaker for understanding the matter. We know what the rules are. However, if our leader, Rahul Gandhi, is not allowed to speak, then it makes us upset. We just want the Parliament to work as per the rules,” he told IANS.

Congress MP Prashant Padole described the revocation as a broader victory for democratic functioning.

“This is a victory of the people; today is the victory of democracy. Rahul Gandhi wanted to raise the issue of national security in Parliament, but he was not allowed to speak. That is why we expressed ourselves like this. This is not our victory but that of the public,” he said.

Congress MP Hibi Eden also emphasised the importance of the opposition’s role in a parliamentary democracy.

“In a parliamentary democracy, the opposition has a significant role. When opposition leaders rise to speak on behalf of the people, their voices are often suppressed by the government and the treasury bench. That is why we protested. We protested in a Gandhian manner,” Eden told IANS.

“When opposition leaders were denied their rightful opportunity, we protested more aggressively. We are people who work among the citizens. We are happy that now that we are back in the House, we will raise the public’s issues,” he said.

–IANS

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