Lok Sabha Revokes Suspension of Eight Opposition MPs

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday revoked the suspension of eight opposition members of Parliament, allowing them to resume participation in the ongoing Budget Session after nearly two months of exclusion for unruly behavior during heated protests. The decision, passed through a voice vote following a motion by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, came amid efforts to restore smooth functioning in the lower house of India's Parliament in New Delhi.

The MPs, suspended on February 3 for the remainder of the session, included seven from the Congress party—Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, B. Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, and Dean Kuriakose—and S. Venkatesan from the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Their suspension stemmed from an incident during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, when opposition members tore up papers and threw them toward the chair in protest. The disruption occurred after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not permitted to quote an excerpt from the unpublished memoir of former Indian Army chief M.M. Naravane, which referenced political decision-making...