Opposition parties demand withdrawal of suspension of Congress

Opposition members in Lok Sabha on Friday said the decision to suspend seven Congress MPs for the remainder of the Budget Session for unruly behaviour should be reversed as the "punishment" was "disproportionate".

Soon after the House reassembled at 12 noon after an adjournment, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he did not even know the basis on which the seven were suspended.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), Dayanidhi Maran (DMK) and Supriya Sule (NCP) said the decision to suspend the seven members should be recalled as the "punishment" was "disproportionate".

Lok Sabha had on Thursday passed a motion suspending the seven Congress members for the remaining period of the Budget Session for their "gross misconduct" and "utter disregard" for House rules after they snatched papers from the Speaker's table.

Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Manicka Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla were suspended on a motion moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.