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This story is from April 7, 2023

Cong MP Patil’s Rajya Sabha suspension extended beyond budget session

Cong MP Patil’s Rajya Sabha suspension extended beyond budget session
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rajani Patil will remain suspended from Rajya Sabha beyond the budget session till the House receives the report of the privileges committee, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Thursday, even as leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge shot off a letter to the RS Chairman calling the decision a “gross parliamentary misdemeanour” and a “blatant violation” of the norms.
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Patil was suspended on February 10 “for the remaining part of the current session” for purportedly recording and sharing a video of Rajya Sabha proceedings on social media.
Kharge, also Congress president, said the “disgraceful treatment” to Patil is a “gross insult” to a diligent and committed woman parliamentarian.
“In such a situation, I cannot help myself but to place on record in strongest possible terms my grave displeasure and anguish, which is shared by my party colleagues as well as my other colleagues of 19 like-minded opposition parties in both Houses of Parliament, over this gross parliamentary misdemeanour,” he wrote.
Kharge noted that floor leaders of 13 opposition parties on Thursday met the Chairman with the request to revoke Patil’s suspension,which has been ignored.
Kharge said the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Rajya Sabha lay down that a member cannot be suspended beyond a session, arguing that continued suspension after the completion of the budget session is a “blatant violation” of rules and established parliamentary traditions.
Extending Patil’s suspension, Dhankhar said the privileges committee held a meeting on March 27 and recommended that it be granted additional time to complete its investigation in the matter.
Patil, however, has denied the charges against her. She had earlier alleged that her suspension was part of a ‘sponsored programme’ in reaction to the opposition interrupting the PM repeatedly when he was replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.
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