'Crime to Demand Discussion on Manipur?': AAP on Sanjay Singh's Suspension

Sanjay Singh was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon session by chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar.

(Photo: The Quint)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Monday, 24 July, slammed the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh from the Rajya Sabha and asked if it was wrong to raise questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the Manipur violence.

Singh was suspended from Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon session by chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar for "repeatedly violating the directions of the chair."

Soon after his suspension, Singh and several other Opposition leaders took to protests at the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises.

"Why is the PM not coming to the House to speak on Manipur? A Kargil warrior's wife was paraded naked. It is a shameful event for for the Indian Army and the 140 crore citizens of India. I had given a notice under Article 267. I kept insisting on a discussion on Manipur for the first 15-20 minutes but the government is not ready," Singh said.

(Photo: Twitter/AAP)

(Photo: Twitter/AAP)

(Photo: Twitter/AAP)

'Black Day for Democracy': AAP

Speaking to The Quint, Chadha said: "Today, when the session commenced, we were on our chairs, we were at the places that were allocated to us. We requested the Chair to let us discuss the issues of Manipur, raise the voices of the people of Manipur, and at least formally demand a discussion. After a few minutes, when the Chairperson was not listening to the Opposition's side and was hearing the side of the treasury benches more, my colleague in the Parliament Sanjay Singh walked up to the Chairperson to request him to convene a discussion on Manipur."

"A few minutes later, a Motion was moved to suspend him and he was subsequently suspended by the Chair. Is it a crime to demand from the government of the day and the chairperson for a discussion on Manipur? Is it a crime to demand for a discussion on the horrific crimes against humanity and women taking place in Manipur?" he added.

Taking to Twitter, the AAP called the suspension a "black day" in India's parliamentary history and slammed "silent Modi".

Floor leaders of Opposition parties later walked out of a meeting called by Dhankhar at 1 pm to discuss Singh's suspension. They walked out after the Chairman reportedly objected to Raghav Chadha of the AAP and Santanu Sen of the Trinamool Congress attending the meeting as they are not the floor leaders of their respective parties.

“There were 27 notices but no party was allowed to speak. I was suspended after being targeted. Which Democracy is this?” a statement by Singh was tweeted on AAP’s handle in Hindi.

The Suspension of Sanjay Singh

The suspension came amid the uproar of the Opposition in the Upper House.

Vice President Dhankhar had requested the AAP member to take his seat and later warned him for his ‘unruly behaviour’.

The suspension motion was moved by Union Minister Piyush Goyal alleging that Singh was behaving against the ”ethics and rules of the House.” Dhankar sought the approval of the House before suspending Singh from Rajya Sabha.