4 Congress MPs suspended for protesting price hike

Four Congress MPs have been suspended from the Lok Sabha for the entire monsoon session ending August 12 for holding protests with placards inside the house over price rise.

Speaker Om Birla had earlier warned them to behave and hold the placards outside the house if they wanted to protest.

The suspended Congress MPs are Manickam Tagore, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and TN Prathapan.

After the Speaker’s action, the four went near Mahatma Gandhi's statue on the parliament grounds and raised slogans there. The Congress said the government is trying to intimidate its MPs by suspending some of them. "Our MPs were trying to raise issues which matter to people," the Congress said.

"The MPs were holding placards raising the issues of rise in prices of gas cylinder, imposition of GST on items such as flour and buttermilk. We moved an adjournment motion demanding a discussion on these issues, but no discussion was held," Congress's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said.

A visibly upset Lok Sabha Speaker had warned opposition MPs that he was willing for a discussion after 3 pm, but won't tolerate any placard protest inside the house.

"If you want to show placards, do it outside the house. I am ready for discussions, but don't think my kind-heartedness is weakness," the Speaker said._NDTV