TMC MP Santanu Sen suspended for remaining period of Monsoon session

DN Bureau

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday suspended TMC MP Santanu Sen for the remaining period of the ongoing Monsoon session.

Santanu Sen
Santanu Sen


New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday suspended TMC MP Santanu Sen for the remaining period of the ongoing Monsoon session. 

"I am deeply distressed by the course of events in House. Unfortunately, proceedings of the House hit a new low with papers being snatched from the Minister and torn into pieces. Such actions are a clear assault on our Parliamentary democracy," said Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. 

"Santanu Sen, please withdraw from House. Allow the House to function," said Naidu before adjourning House till 12 noon following an uproar that started during TMC MP Derek O'Brien's statement over Thursday's incident.

Earlier on Friday, V Muralidharan moved a suspension motion against TMC MP Santanu Sen for the remaining period of this session.

Following this, Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu approved the motion and announced that Sen stands suspended for the remaining part of the session. 

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Point of order raised by TMC MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy and raised the objection mentioning that there was no list of business mention for the motion moved against Shantanu sen. 

Earlier today, the Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal met Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu over the issue of snatching of a paper from the hands of IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tearing it off by TMC MP Santanu Sen yesterday, said sources.

Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan were also present at the meeting.

The development comes after TMC MP Santanu Sen on Thursday snatched the statement on Pegasus matter from Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Rajya Sabha and tore it into pieces.

Following this, there was a verbal feud between BJP and TMC MPs. Marshals intervened to bring the situation under control.

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Heated words were exchanged between Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Sen after the latter snatched a paper from Vaishnaw while he was speaking on the 'Pegasus Project' report in Rajya Sabha.

Asked about the incident, Vaishnaw said, "TMC has a culture of violence in Bengal. They are trying to bring the same to Parliament. What message do they want to give to the next generation of Parliamentarians?"

The Opposition has alleged that names of several Indian politicians, journalists, lawyers, and activists have appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware. This comes following reports published in The Wire. (ANI)










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