- TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee suspended from Lok Sabha.
- Accused of derogatory language against women NCPI members.
- Suspension for remainder of monsoon session until August 13.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee for the remainder of the monsoon session after he was accused of using derogatory language against women MPs during a heated exchange with NCPI members in the lower house.
The monsoon session ends on August 13. When the House reassembled at 2 PM after adjournment for the second time during the day, Krishna Prasad Tenetty, who was presiding over the proceedings, referred the members' complaint against Banerjee to the Speaker, saying his comments had hurt the dignity of the House.
The proposal was passed by voice vote
He then asked Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to read out a resolution seeking the House's approval to suspend Banerjee. The resolution was passed by voice vote amid sloganeering by opposition members over the NEET paper leak and other issues. After the resolution was passed, Tenetty asked Banerjee to leave the House premises.
The House was adjourned for the day amid continuous sloganeering by the opposition. Earlier in the day, Banerjee had a heated exchange with some of her former party colleagues and NCP MPs in the Lok Sabha chamber after the House was adjourned following uproar by the opposition.
Reason for the debate not clear
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) members involved in the debate included Mitali Bag, Shatabdi Roy, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. Banerjee has been a loyalist to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. It was not clear what sparked the heated debate.
Some opposition party members intervened and tried to calm both sides. Banerjee left the House after some opposition MPs asked what had happened. Following this, Bag, Dastidar, and some other NCP members went to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in his chamber to raise the issue.
Notably, following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, 20 TMC MPs rebelled against the party leadership and joined the NCP. They began sitting separately from TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha. The NCP MPs also expressed their support for the ruling NDA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.