Why Congress MPs were spared, asks TMC

A day after its leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy was asked to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday walked out of the House, questioning why no action was taken against 33 Congress members who were named for ‘gross disorderly conduct’ for protesting in Well.

Raising the issue when the House met for the day, Derek O’Brien (TMC) said rule 255 was invoked by the Chairman Hamid Ansari on Monday, which his colleague Roy complied with.

“We have no issue with that,” he said, adding Roy had at no point left his seat and was raising an issue from there.

He then went on to read the Rajya Bulletin of Monday which named 33 Congress members for ‘gross disorderly conduct in violation of rules and etiquette of (the) Rajya Sabha’.

The members ‘entered the Well of the House, shouted slogans and persistently and willfully obstructed the proceedings of the House’, forcing the Chair to repeatedly adjourn the House, the Bulletin said.

He said one member was making a point from his seat, whereas 33 members were in Well.

The TMC leader sought a ruling from the Chair if action against one member and sparing 33 others ‘violates Article 14 of the Constitution’. Article 14 provides for right to equality before law.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the ruling was given by the chairman and he cannot say anything on it. “Ruling of the chairman cannot be questioned, ruling of the Chair cannot be discussed,” he said.

O’Brien said ‘we are saddened... and are walking out of Rajya Sabha’.

The 33 members named in the Rajya Sabha bulletin are: Madhusudan Mistry, V Hanumantha Rao, Ranee Narah, Rajani Patil, P Bhattacharya, Mahendra Singh Mahra, Santiuse Kujur, Pramod Tiwari, Mohd Ali Khan, Ashk Alik Tak, Ripun Bora, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Viplove Thakur, Vijaylaxmi Sadho, Raj Babbar, Renuka Chowdhury, Praveen Rashtrapal, Sanjay Sinh, Parvez Hashmi, Palvai Govardhan Reddy, Shantaram Naik, Wansuk Syiem, P L Punia, Narendra Budania, Jesudasu Seelam, Ranjib Biswal, Ronald Sapa Tlau, Oscar Fernandes, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, K V P Ramachandra Rao, Shamsher Singh Dullo, E M Sudarsana Natchiappan and Husain Dalwai.