Sanjay Singh, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member, was suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Monday for the remainder of the Monsoon session.
Singh’s suspension was referred to the AAP as a “black day” in Indian legislative history. The floor leaders for the opposition left the room in protest as well.
Singh may be seen in the house well in a video taken just before Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar proposed the move to suspend Singh from voting.
According to the PTI, Dhankhar warned Singh and called him out for his “unruly behavior.” The proposal to suspend him was then made by House Leader Piyush Goyal, and the House approved it by voice vote. Dhankhar then recessed the home till 2:00 p.m.
The Opposition was in a tizzy over Singh’s suspension because they wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the Manipur crisis in Parliament. Ethnic conflict between the Meitei and indigenous populations of the state has gripped the region. As a result of attacks on homes, public infrastructure, religious sites, and governmental institutions, over 130 people have been murdered and others have been displaced. A video of an incident on May 4 when two indigenous women were displayed nude and touched leaked last week. National uproar followed, and Modi addressed the situation for the first time.
The opposition has criticized Modi’s so far non-response to the Manipur crisis. The opposition persists in demanding that Modi make a speech despite the government’s declaration that it is eager to have a debate over Manipur in Parliament.
The floor leaders of the opposition met with Dhankhar after Singh was suspended, but the leaders abruptly left the meeting, according to the reporter.
The Rajya Sabha’s floor leaders of the opposition parties also left a meeting that was convened by the chairman at 1 o’clock to address Mr. Singh’s suspension. Since Raghav Chadha of the AAP and Santanu Sen of the Trinamool Congress are not the floor leaders of their respective parties, the chairman protested to their attendance at the meeting, and they left.
The AAP criticized “silent Modi” and referred to the suspension as a “black day” in India’s legislative history.
AAP tweeted in Hindi, “Silent Modi is avoiding questions over Manipur. Sanjay Singh, an AAP MP, has been suspended for the duration of the monsoon session for his demands for answers over the violence in Manipur. How long will Modi remain on the run? He’ll have to respond to questions from the populace.