One MP mistakenly added to list of suspended MPs, clarifies Pralhad Joshi

New Delhi [India], December 14 : After the suspension of several MPs from both Houses for raising a ruckus on the major security breach in Parliament on Wednesday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday clarified that one member was mistakenly included in the list of MPs suspended.
Following his clarification, a formal request was made to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to exclude one member, who wasn't present at the Well of the Lower House during the disruption, from the list of suspended MPs.
The number of suspended lawmakers was, thus, revised to 13 from 14 as was erroneously mentioned earlier.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament after both Houses were adjourned till 11 am on Friday, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, "A total of 13 MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha. One member, who was not present in the Well of the House during the commotion, was suspended erroneously. We requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to drop that name and he obliged."
Even as Opposition members raised a hue and cry over the bulk suspensions, Joshi urged them not to politicise the issue and enable the Treasury to hold constructive debates and discussions on all issues.
"The Speaker is the guardian or custodian of the House. It is not in our powers or functional jurisdiction to make a statement on his decisions. The government is merely complying with the orders of the Speaker. I would request the members in the Opposition not to do politics over this issue. This is a sensitive matter and I would request them to cooperate with the government (in the ongoing probe into the security breach) and allow constructive debates and discussions in Parliament," the minister said.
"We condemned the security breach in Parliament and took immediate action. We even called a meeting of the floor leaders. The Speaker has ordered the Home Secretary to ensure immediate action in the matter," Joshi added.
Recalling previous security breaches in Parliament, Joshi said it wasn't right to politicise an issue that comes within the Speaker's jurisdiction.
"Doing politics over an issue that falls within the Speaker's jurisdiction is highly condemnable. Such incidents (breaches) happened previously as well. The actions that followed these incidents were well within the domain or jurisdiction of the Speaker. The honourable Speaker has said there should be no politics over this incident," Joshi said.
Earlier in the day, five Congress Lok Sabha members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the ongoing Winter Session.
Shortly after, nine more opposition MPs were suspended from the Lower House for the same period for "unruly conduct".
The motion for suspension of nine opposition MPs -- Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan, Mohammad Jawed, PR Natarajan, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, K Subrahmanyam, SR Parthiban, S Venkatesan and Manickam Tagore -- was moved by Joshi.
The MPs were suspended soon after the House met at 3 pm following its adjournment earlier. The House was later adjourned for the day.
Earlier, after tabling a motion for the suspension of five Congress members from the Lok Sabha for 'unruly behaviour', Joshi apprised the House of the steps taken in the wake of Wednesday's security breach in which two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitor's gallery and set off smoke cans.
The Opposition has since been raising a chorus for a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah in light of the incident.
Meanwhile, the Patiala House Court granted 7-day custody to four accused persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament to Delhi Police's Special Cell.
A case has been registered against the accused under multiple relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Parliament Security breach incident, police said on Thursday.