Mann's demand of PM's suspension 'laughable', should tender apology: JD (U)

Dubbing Bhagwant Mann's demand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suspension as 'laughable', the Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP should tender an unconditional apology.

"Mann's attitude in this is laughable. He should tender an unconditional apology. If he doesn't do so, the Speaker and the Ethics Committee will be free to take any action against him," JD (U) leader K.C. Tyagi told ANI.

Mann earlier on Monday attempted to downplay the controversy surrounding his move to live-stream his arrival at the Parliament last week.

He demanded Prime Minister Modi's expulsion for compromising on national security with the decision to allow Pakistan's security agency to probe the Pathankot airbase attack.

Extremely upset with the flurry of criticism against him by the opposition parties, Mann said that this was a political conspiracy aimed at maligning the AAP's reputation ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls.

Mann has been told not to attend the Lok Sabha till a decision is made about how he should be penalised.

According to reports, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has advised Mann to stay away from the House for the time being.

Mann had submitted an unconditional apology to the Lok Sabha Speaker which she said was not enough.

A nine-member committee will now investigate the incident.

The enquiry committee has been asked to file its report by August 3 and Mann has been asked to make a statement at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The AAAP MP last week filmed a video clip of his journey from his residence to Parliament House and shared it on social media. The video, showing various high security areas in Parliament, put the security of Parliament "in peril", Mahajan said earlier.

There was uproar in the Parliament over the video and MPs called for strict action against the AAP MP.