Privileges panel to seek responses from 11 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs

The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha, in a meeting held in New Delhi on January 9, decided to seek responses from 11 members suspended on charges of breach of privilege during the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament. Their suspension is pending till the report of the panel, headed by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, is tabled in the Rajya Sabha.

The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha, in a meeting held in New Delhi on January 9, decided to seek responses from 11 members suspended on charges of breach of privilege during the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament. Their suspension is pending till the report of the panel, headed by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, is tabled in the Rajya Sabha.

During the Winter Session, the Rajya Sabha suspended 46 MPs over protests on the Parliament security breach episode. Of them, 35 MPs were suspended till the end of the Winter Session. The remaining 11 continue to be under suspension, pending the report of the Privileges Committee. 

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar referred the suspension of the 11 MPs – Binoy Viswam, Jebi Mather, John Brittas, A.A. Rahim, P. Santhosh Kumar, M.M. Abdulla, L. Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Kumar Ketkar and G.C. Chandrasekhar – to the Privileges Committee to see if their actions within the chamber amounted to breach of privilege of other MPs. Mr. Ketkar is a member of the Privileges Committee.

A senior member in the panel, on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday’s meeting was the first meeting of the panel on the issue of suspension. “We have received Chairman’s recommendation on the suspensions. We will seek responses from the suspended MPs. Based on the written responses, we will take a decision whether to summon them before the panel or not,” the member said. He indicated that if the responses are satisfactory, the panel may prepare its report based on that.

Another source in the panel said the committee will hold its meeting soon and the suspended MPs may get less than 10 days to send their responses. “We are trying to table the report on the first day of the next session,” he added. In view of his suspension, Mr. Ketkar will not be able to attend the proceedings of the panel.

Mr. Viswam, senior CPI MP, said on social media platform X that once he receives the notice from the panel, he will respond with utmost responsibility. “Debates and discussions are the soul of Parliament. Demanding a statement on security breach cannot be alien to Parliamentary ethics. Hope the committee knows it,” he said.