Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien said the Opposition will find “innovative ways” in getting out the visuals from inside the Rajya Sabha. This comes after Congress MP Rajani Patil’s suspension from the House for filming the proceedings and posting the clip on her social media platform.
“Government censors @SansadTV & wants to turn #Parliament into a deep dark chamber. We will find INNOVATIVE WAYS to get visuals out from RS. Citizens must know truth. Cowards can suspend an Opposition MP but you cannot silence us,” O’Brien said in a tweet and tagged some of the Opposition parties including the Congress, DMK and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
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Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the Parliament has different rules for its different set of members including the Opposition, the Prime Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs. Responding to Congress MP Jairam Ramesh’s tweet, O’Brien said the Opposition has to “authenticate what they say on the floor of Parliament”, while the same rule do not apply to the prime minister and the “BJP desk thumpers”.
Congress’ Rajani Ashokrao Patil was earlier suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the Budget session on grounds of parliamentary misconduct. The suspension came after the Congress MP tweeted a video from inside the House where Opposition MPs were seen protesting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the Motion of Thanks on Thursday. Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took a “serious view” on the matter and called it an “unwholesome activity” on her side.
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“In public domain yesterday, on Twitter, there was a dissemination of a video relating to proceedings of this House…Rajani Ashokrao Patil engaged in this unwholesome activity and what has been seen is a matter that must engage our attention,” Dhankhar said.
