45 Lok Sabha members suspended in 2 days for disruptions
New Delhi, Jan 3 : Cracking the whip on unruly MPs , Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has suspended 45 Lok Sabha members belonging to the TDP and the AIADMK since Wednesday after they created ruckus in the House and continuously disrupted proceedings for days.
Mahajan had suspended 24 AIADMK members on Wednesday for five consecutive sittings. A day later, she suspended 21 members of AIADMK and TDP and an unattached YSR Congress member. The action was taken under rule 374A of Lok Sabha which says that they cannot attend the remaining days of the session, which concludes on January 8.
While AIADMK has 37 members, the TDP has 15 in the lower house.
Action against such a large number of MPs is unusual.
In February, 2014, the then Speaker Meira Kumar had suspended 18 MPs from Andhra Pradesh following bedlam in the House. Those suspended then were either supporting or opposing creation of Telangana.
Proceeding in Lok Sabha during the winter session that commenced on December 11 have been repeatedly stalled due to protests by AIADMK and TDP members over a proposed dam on river Cauvery and special state status to Andhra Pradesh respectively.
While 19 MPs were suspended around noon on Thursday, two others were asked to leave the House around 2.00 pm.
As soon as the Zero Hour commenced at noon on Thursday, AIADMK and TDP members trooped in the Well, raising slogans and carrying banners.
The AIADMK members flung papers towards the chair several times. Amid the ruckus, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar appealed to the agitating MPs to return to their seats.
However, protests by the unrelenting members of the two Southern parties continued. At this, the Speaker initially warned that she would be forced to name the unruly members and take action against them.
"I warn you, I will take you names. You have come to the Well and are persistently creating trouble," she said.
As the members refused to budge, the Speaker suspended 11 TDP MPs, seven AIADMK members and an unattached member under Rule 374(A) for the next four sitting of the House.
Among the suspended MPs were former Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju (TDP), Thota Narasimham (TDP) and Renuka Butta (unattached) who had won on a YSR Congress ticket.
"You are wilfully obstructing the proceedings of the House. I am, therefore, constrained to name you and suspend you for four consecutive days," Mahajan said.
The Speaker subsequently adjourned the House till 2 pm after conducting business for nearly 15 minutes during the Zero Hour. When the House met again at 2 pm, some members continued protest in the Well despite being suspended.
She then suspended two more TDP membes for disrupting proceedings. Amid the din, the House was adjourned for the day without taking up the remaining part of debate on the Rafale issue.
Meanwhile, some pictures being shared on social media purportedly showed TDP members standing on the Speaker's podium and holding placards when the House was adjourned soon after noon.
They had not left the Lok Sabha chamber even after the House was adjourned. Two questions were taken up during the Question Hour even as the members continued to shout slogans.
Members from the Congress wanted to raise the Sabarimala issue and Mahajan told them that the matter can be raised later.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
