Trying to counter the Opposition’s allegation that it was Congress MPs who were disrupting the proceedings in Parliament, the ruling party expelled six Lok Sabha MPs from Andhra Pradesh here on Tuesday.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the decision of the disciplinary committee of the AICC to expel the six MPs from Andhra Pradesh with immediate effect,” the party said in a release.
The MPs — V Arun Kumar, L Rajagopal, R Sambasiva Rao, Sabbam Hari, GV Harsha Kumar and A Sai Pratap — said that they will continue to vote against the Telangana Bill and press their demand for a no-confidence motion against the Government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to reach out to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership also seems to have failed as the BJP maintained that the Government should have undertaken the bifurcation of the State in a smooth manner. The Opposition party, however, will be attending a meeting convened by the Prime Minister on the issue on Wednesday.
The Telangana Bill is supposed to come before the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Rajya Sabha secretariat had objected to its tabling on the grounds that it is a money Bill.
The Congress’ decision to expel the MPs is seen as a move to push the Bill in Parliament. The party maintained that it is committed to passing the legislation .
Disruptions Continue Both the Houses failed to transact any major business on the fifth day too. According to PRS Legislative Research, in the five sittings, Lok Sabha has lost 95 per cent while the Rajya Sabha has lost 91 per cent of its time to disruptions.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day at 12 p.m and the Rajya Sabha was adjourned at 2 p.m.
Amid disruptions, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014; the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014; and the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2013 were introduced in Rajya Sabha.