Derek O'Brien criticises govt's suspension of MPs, says 'BJP wants us to behave like Brij Bhushan Singh'

Derek O`Brien/ File Photo

On Tuesday, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien expressed his disapproval over suspension of MPs and speculated that the administration would anticipate opposition MPs to follow the example set by BJP lawmakers Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Ramesh Bidhuri, who are accused of misbehaviour, in order to avoid suspension.

According to a report in the PTI, during the last Winter session of Parliament, scores of opposition MPs, including O'Brien were suspended from the Parliament. These MPs had protested and demanded a meeting and statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the security breach that occurred on December 13.

O'Brien made reference to Bidhuri's purported use of a racial slur in the Lok Sabha and Singh's alleged sexual harassment of six female wrestlers in a sharp article. He wondered if the government wanted opposition members to mimic their actions in order to avoid being suspended, the PTI report added.

"Two impeccably well-behaved Members of Parliament continue to grace the Lok Sabha -- Ramesh Bidhuri and Brij Bhushan Singh. Maybe the Modi government wants all of us in the opposition to behave like them to avoid suspension from Parliament," O'Brien -- the Trinamool Congress' leader in the Rajya Sabha -- said in the post.

According to the report, following the prorogation of the session on December 29, the suspensions of the majority of opposition MPs were lifted; however, 14 MPs, comprising 11 members of the Rajya Sabha and 3 members of the Lok Sabha, remained suspended until a privileges committee report was received.

K Jayakumar, Abdul Khaleque, and Vijay Kumar are the suspended Lok Sabha MPs; Jebi Mather, L Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Kumar Ketkar, GC Chandrasekhar, Binoy Viswam, Sandosh Kumar, Mohamad Abdulla, John Brittas, and AA Rahim are the suspended Rajya Sabha members. Because of their suspension, it is unclear if they will attend the next Budget session, the PTI report further stated.

With PTI inputs