Kharge begs the RS chairman to lift the suspension of the TMC MP: “He was attempting to…”

TMC MP Derek O’Brien was suspended from the upper chamber. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday, pleading with him to lift the suspension. According to Kharge, the legislator from the Trinamool Congress was only attempting to get his attention in order to bring up a “perfectly legitimate” demand that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement about the subject of security breaches in Parliament.

“All he was trying to do was to attract your attention so as to raise the collective demand of INDIA Parties for a statement by the Minister of Home Affairs on the shocking incident that took place in Lok Sabha on 13th December 2023,” the leader of the Congress added. “These are perfectly legitimate demands.”

Kharge also took issue with Shah discussing the matter with a TV station during a sitting of parliament.

“The Minister of Home Affairs’ ability to discuss the events of December 13, 2023, at a media event, but his refusal to make a statement in Parliament while the Parliament is in session, is a violation of parliamentary traditions and conventions,” the speaker added.

On December 13, two individuals leaped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber, prompting opposition parties to demand a reply from Shah. Some lawmakers even went so far as to demand the resignation of the home minister.

Almost all opposition members of parliament flocked to the Well of the House shortly after the Rajya Sabha convened at 11 a.m. on Thursday, seeking a debate on the breakdown in Parliament security. O’Brien likewise stepped into the space in front of the chair and raised his arms. The Rajya Sabha Chairman became enraged by this and called out the TMC MP, requesting that he leave the House.

Subsequently, House Leader Piyush Goyal resolved to suspend O’Brien for the balance of the session, and it was approved by voice vote.