'Matter Should Be Reviewed Holistically': Adhir Chowdhury Urges LS Speaker To Revoke Suspension Of 13 MPs

In the letter, he said that the members were demanding an explanation from the government over the security breach incident. 

The Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Speaker Om Birla urging him to revoke suspension of the 13 MPs.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: The Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday wrote to Speaker Om Birla over the suspension of the 13 opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the Winter session.

Earlier on Thursday, a total of 14 opposition MPs, including nine from the Congress, were suspended as the Lok Sabha security breach escalated into a major row. Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien was suspended from Rajya Sabha. 

In the letter, he said that the members were demanding an explanation from the government over the security breach incident. 

In a three-page letter to the speaker, Chowdhury said, " As the Speaker, Lok Sabha, under whose authority and control, the security of the precincts of Parliament House rests you have rightly and justly constituted a high level inquiry Committee to cause an in-depth investigation of the brazen, and in a way, bizarre act of breach of security in Parliament House that happened on 13th December, 2023."

Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker.

"Considering the factors that led to the suspension of 13 members in recent days, I would urge that the matter be re-looked into holistically and appropriate action taken for… pic.twitter.com/M56FZlFCk9

— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2023

"Since the seriousness of the matter lies in this fact, which relates to our own security, Members of the Opposition are duty bound to demand an explanation from the Government and expect corrective measures to be taken urgently. Considering the fact that the Members who have been suspended on account of "unruly conduct" were pressing for an explanation from the Government on very troubling issues, to me, it appears to be appropriate to hear them on their concerns and points of view.

Urging the Speaker to revoke the suspension of the MPs, Chowdhury wrote, "Considering the factors that led to the suspension of 13 members in the recent days, I would urge that the matter be re-looked into holistically and appropriate action taken for revoking the suspension and restoring order in the House."

He also urged the Speaker to investigate and take corrective action in the Lok Sabha security breach incident.

"There is an urgent need to not only to investigate and take corrective action in regard to the security apparatus of the Parliament House Estate, but the factors that led to the youth to indulge in such a brazen act and put themselves, their families and friends into a situation of misery also need to be looked into," he added.

The suspension of 14 opposition MPs was announced on Thursday as the Lok Sabha security breach escalated into a major row. The suspended MPs disrupted proceedings by moving into the Well of the Lok Sabha, questioning the security breach, and demanding a statement from the government.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved two resolutions for their suspension. While the government urged the opposition not to politicise the national issue, the Congress, TMC, and others demanded a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.

Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas, and Dean Kuriakose from the Congress were suspended when the first resolution was adopted, four Congress MPs -- VK Sreekandan, Benny Behanan, Mohammed Jawaid, and Manickam Tagore along with PR Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K Subbarayan (CPI), SR Parthiban (DMK) and S Venkatesan (CPI-M) were suspended through the second resolution.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien was suspended in Rajya Sabha.