Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar revokes suspension of 11 Opposition MPs ahead of Budget session

New Delhi: A day before the Budget session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar revoked the suspension of 11 opposition MPs on Tuesday.

The suspended parliamentarians were held guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the Council of States by the Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee.

In its report, the committee stated that "the period of suspension already suffered by the members should be treated as sufficient punishment for the transgression."

A total of 11 Members of Parliament were held "guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the Council" of States, including Jebi Mather Hisham, L Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Kumar Ketkar, G C Chandrashekhar, Binoy Viswam, Santosh Kumar P, M Mohamed Abdulla, John Brittas, and A A Rahim.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters on Tuesday, “Everybody's suspension will be withdrawn. We have requested the Speaker and the Chairperson on behalf of the government, and they have agreed."

A total of 146 opposition MPs have been suspended from both houses of Parliament during the winter session. While 49 MPs were suspended in the Lok Sabha, 78 were suspended.

The suspensions come as opposition MPs have demanded a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament on December 13, when two men jumped from the visitor’s gallery and opened yellow smoke canisters.