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.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
