"When you put your hand on our windpipe, we have to fight back...": Congress's Raja Warring on suspension of MPs

New Delhi [India], February 3 (ANI): Congress MP Raja Warring on Tuesday criticised the government's actions of suspending eight opposition members from Lok Sabha 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 about the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020.
Speaking with ANI, he claimed that Rahul Gandhi's speech was interrupted when he mentioned the Prime Minister, and opposition leaders were silenced and questioned the government's fear of Gandhi's words, asking, "What bomb does Rahul Gandhi have?"
"Who will let us speak if you don't let the Leader of the Opposition speak? The Leader of the Opposition wanted to speak since yesterday. He wanted to quote a magazine or a book, which the General had mentioned. He has given the authenticity today by signing on his letterhead. Rahul Gandhi had just started speaking. He mentioned Doklam, China, Pakistan, and the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister's name came up, they started shouting loudly. The Chairman then said, "Turn off the microphone," and passed the microphone to someone else.
He further alleged that no other Opposition leader was given an opportunity to speak, forcing members to protest in the well of the House.
"He didn't let any other opposition leader speak either, so he shifted it further. We told him that this is wrong... It's wrong in a democracy. They didn't listen; they kept interrupting. We went into the well of the House, and they still kept interrupting. We had to do something. When you put your hand on our windpipe, we have to fight back... Otherwise, for the past year and a half, when have we ever climbed on the table?," he said.
Questioning the government's reaction to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, Warring said the Congress believed in maintaining parliamentary decorum but was compelled to protest due to repeated disruptions.
"We are people who believe in maintaining decorum, but what kind of bomb does Rahul Gandhi have? What bomb are you afraid of? Do you think Rahul Gandhi will say something that will expose everything about you to the country? Don't be afraid, listen to Rahul Gandhi, and if you had listened and responded to what he said, there wouldn't have been so much uproar," he added.
The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm, and Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition, said that he would not refer to any magazine article about former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane's memoirs but would make comments about Chinese action during the Kaislash Range standoff with China and the government's response.
The government has said that Rahul Gandhi cannot quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it.
The opposition MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the session are Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Dean Kuriakose and CPI-M member S Venkatesan. (ANI)