Mr. Singh was sacked for allegedly jumping into the House well and chanting.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the monsoon session amid a face-off in Parliament between the government and the opposition over the violence in Manipur. Mr. Singh was suspended for allegedly jumping into the well of the House and shouting slogans and refusing to go back despite being warned by the Rajya Sabha chairman.
The suspension, which comes at a time when the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party have locked horns over the Centre’s ordinance to control bureaucrats in Delhi, has invited sharp reactions from the AAP. The party said Mr Singh was a strong voice of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the BJP would have jailed him if it had its way.
“Mr. Singh raised slogans and the entire opposition rallied. It is clear that he is a thorn in the side of the government and they will try their best to silence his voice. But whatever they do, be it such tricks or misuse of investigative agencies like CBI and ED, the comeback of the BJP government is difficult. The legal wing will see what the Delhi minister and Saurabh minister said, “and what Delhi minister Bhagwan can do.
After an hour’s adjournment, when the Rajya Sabha resumed its proceedings at noon, the chairman allowed the question and answer session to begin. Many opposition MPs pointed out that they have submitted notices under Rule 267 for a lengthy discussion on the violence in Manipur. They also demanded the Prime Minister to come to the Parliament and start the discussion with a statement.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed the question and answer session to continue. When Water Minister Gajendra Shekhawat was answering questions about his ministry, AAP MP Sanjay Singh jumped into the well of the House and started shouting slogans.
Mr. Singh was protesting against allowing the question-and-answer session when opposition MPs were demanding discussion under Rule 267. The chairman warned him to go back, but he refused and continued chanting.
Rajya Sabha leader Piyush Goyal said it was a violation of the Rajya Sabha’s code of discipline and conduct, and urged the chairman to take strict action against Mr Singh. He moved a motion to impeach him, which was carried by the House by voice vote. The Chairman then announced Mr Singh’s dismissal.