"Dark day for Democracy...": Congress Deepender Hooda slams govt for silencing LoP on India-China issue

New Delhi [India], February 3 (ANI): Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Tuesday criticised the government for restricting the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) from speaking on India-China relations, calling it a "dark day for democracy."
Speaking outside the Parliament, Hooda said, "This is very unfortunate because in a country and in a democracy, both the ruling party and the opposition have their roles to play, and telling the Leader of the Opposition that he cannot speak on India-China relations is not right. Because if the Leader of the Opposition sees an issue that is in the national interest, he will voice his opinion...Do they want a democracy without an opposition? What then is the meaning of democracy? This is a dark day for democracy, and this government's anti-democratic face has been exposed..."
Suspended Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that eight Members of Parliament, including seven from the Congress and one from the CPI (M), were suspended from the Lok Sabha after they protested the repeated interruption of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's speech in the House.
Speaking to ANI, Tagore alleged that Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak despite following parliamentary procedure. Even after submitting authentication today, his speech on China and US tariffs was stopped, and his microphone was taken away, prompting the MPs' protest and subsequent suspension.
"8 MPs are suspended, 7 Congress MPs and 1 CPM MP from Madurai, S. Venkatesan. Our mistake is that we were protesting against the government's decision not to allow the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, to speak. Yesterday, LoP Rahul Gandhi was disturbed again and again, and he was not allowed to speak, and he was asked to give authentication. Today, he came up with the authentication, and he gave the letter and submitted the authentication. After that, they stopped the speech of the leader of the opposition. Rahul Gandhi spoke about China and US tariffs. After that, Rahul Gandhi's mic was taken, and we protested; therefore, we are suspended," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm. Rahul Gandhi stated that he would not quote from any magazine article or unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane, but would instead make remarks on Chinese actions during the Kailash Range standoff and the government's response.
The government, however, maintained that Rahul Gandhi could not quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it. The Chair directed him to resume his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's Address and adhere to the ruling already given.
As Rahul Gandhi continued to press his point, the Chair called upon other members to speak on the motion of thanks. Opposition members resorted to sloganeering, which intensified after a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member began his speech. Amid the uproar, some members were seen throwing papers, forcing the House to be adjourned.
When the House resumed its proceedings, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named eight opposition members.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved the motion for suspension of the eight members for the remainder of the budget session for "violating rules and throwing papers on the chair." The motion was adopted by the House amid protests from the opposition members.
The suspended MPs include Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Dean Kuriakose, along with CPI (M) MP S. Venkatesan.
The Lok Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments on Monday as well due to the stalemate surrounding Rahul Gandhi's attempts to make references to the magazine article. (ANI)