New Delhi, Aug 11: AAP MP Raghav Chadha was on Friday suspended from Rajya Sabha for “gross violation of rules, misconduct, defiant attitude and contemptuous conduct”, pending a report by the privileges committee.
His suspension followed a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal who sought action against the AAP leader for including names of some members of the Upper House without their consent in a proposed select committee for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The motion was passed by a voice vote in the Upper House.
The House also approved the continuation of suspension of senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh from the House, pending the privileges committee report.
Singh was suspended on July 24, four days after the Monsoon session of Parliament began.
Earlier this week, a Rajya Sabha bulletin said Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar received complaints from MPs Sasmit Patra, S Phangnon Konyak, M Thambidurai and Narhari Amin alleging breach of privilege by Chadha “for inter-alia including their names without their consent, in violation of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, in a motion on August 7”.
Chadha had proposed the constitution of a select committee to consider the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and had included the names of the four MPs.
Goyal said it is with a deep sense of anguish that he has to raise a very pertinent issue related to member Raghav Chadha who has repeatedly indulged himself in “gross impropriety and misconduct” that is unexpected and unbecoming of a Member of Parliament.
“His conduct is far distant from the ethical standards expected of a member of this august house,” he said.
He said on August 7, he moved an amendment under relevant rules for the referring the Government of National Capital Territory Amendment Bill 2023 to a select committee consisting of 19 members, including honourable members Narhari Amin, S Phangnon Konyak, Sasmit Patra, M Thambidurai and Sudhanshu Trivedi. It also included S Niranjan Reddy, who did not realise his name has been included and therefore at that point of time did not raise an objection, but subsequently confirmed that he has also not given his consent.
When the motion came for consideration before the Council on August 7, some members whose names figured in the list took severe exception for being included for the proposed select committee moved by Chadha, Goyal said.
He said Chadha’s action has severe consequences and “it could go as far as losing the membership of the House”. “Unfortunately, rather than remorsefully accepting regret for his unethical conduct, he, in an interaction with the press outside the House, ridiculed the objections raised by his fellow colleagues for including their names in the proposed select committee without their consent,” Goyal also said. (PTI)
