Assure that your MPs won’t enter Parliament’s Well, show placards: Minister Pralhad Joshi to Opposition
The government said Wednesday that it would consider revoking the suspension of four Congress Lok Sabha MPs if the Opposition “guarantees” that their members would not enter the Well of the House and show placards.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government was also ready to hold a debate on the price rise as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had returned to work after recovering from Covid.
We are always ready for a positive discussion in the parliament, but the Congress party keeps disturbing the house. We are even ready to call back the suspended members, but the opposition should ensure that they do not disturb the house again. pic.twitter.com/TkbSHm6Ak5
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) July 27, 2022
“The government is ready for discussions from day one. We are ready today as well. If they (Opposition) are ready, we are ready. But will they guarantee that they will not troop into the Well holding up placards? Placards are even put up on the face of the Speaker,” Joshi said in the Lok Sabha.
Joshi also tweeted that the suspended MPs should express regret. “We are always ready for a positive discussion in the parliament, but the Congress party keeps disturbing the house. We are even ready to call back the suspended members, but the opposition should ensure that they do not disturb the house again,” he wrote.
Congress MPs Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, T N Prathapan and S Jothimani were suspended on Monday for the rest of the session for protesting and carrying placards inside the House.
As the House assembled at 2 pm, NCP MP Supriya Sule, DMK’s A Raja and Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandopadhyay demanded that the Congress members’ suspension be withdrawn.
“We are willing to cooperate. We are requesting the government to bring them (suspended Congress MPs) back. We will not go to the Well,” Sule said. Bandopadhyay said the House would run smoothly if the members were brought back. “Let the issue be sorted out as soon as possible and let the debate start,” he added.
Raja, a former Union minister, said the government should not go by its numerical strength alone. “Coming to the Well, democratically protesting with placards, is not unknown to this House,” Raja said.
