TDP MP KP Tenneti
NEW DELHI: TDP MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was presiding over the Lok Sabha proceedings on Tuesday when some opposition MPs threw papers at him, said that someone from the opposition called him “yaar” (friend/buddy) and, when he objected, a few MPs charged at him and began tearing and throwing papers.The MPs, including seven from the Congress, were subsequently suspended from the House for the rest of the Budget session.“When I was in the chair, somebody from the opposition was calling the chair as ‘yaar,’ which is objectionable in any House of Representatives. I pointed that out. The response I got was, ‘what is wrong in saying “yaar”’ — which is not correct,” Tenneti, who was filling in for Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, told ANI. “In continuation of that, some of them came to the table and started tearing papers and throwing, which is again objectionable. This is not the behaviour one is expected to come up with in Parliament,” he added. The TDP is a key constituent of the BJP-led ruling NDA.The suspended oppositiommembers are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan (CPI-M).Moving the resolution seeking their suspension, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the members acted in “utter disregard” of the House and the authority of the Chair. “They also tore papers and threw them on the Chair and were named by the Chair for their behaviour,” the minister added.The suspended MPs had also tried to climb onto the table of the House secretary-general, tore papers, and threw them at the Chair.The House passed the resolution by a voice vote, after which proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar.The Congress, led by leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, later staged a protest outside the Parliament building against the suspension of their party colleagues.