Pre-planned strategy from Treasury benches: Priyanka Chaturvedi on suspension of MPs

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday reacted to the suspension of several MPs from both the Houses and called it a pre-planned strategy from the Treasury benches.

Hitting out at the ruling BJP, the Shiv Sena leader alleged that the Treasury benches have decided that whoever seeks a discussion from the home minister is effectively suspended.

"The only pre-planned strategy is coming from the central government because they have no answers. The Treasury benches have no answer as to how such a big security breach happened. They do not have answers to tell us why a deputy speaker for the past 5 years has not been appointed who actually is the point person in ensuring parliamentary security. They are failing to answer why there was no joint secretary appointed for parliamentary security who looks at the level of security in the Parliament," she told ANI.

Questioning the Parliament security breach incident, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said, "The home minister fails to answer why there are over 40 percent vacant seats, which have not been filled. They failed to answer why they haven't been able to protect the parliament. And that is why it's a pre-planned strategy from the Treasury benches that whoever seeks a discussion from the home minister is effectively suspended."

Forty-nine opposition MPs, including Farooq Abdullah, Supriya Sule, Dimple Yadav and Shashi Tharoor, were on Tuesday suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the winter session, a day after 33 MPs were suspended from the House for "misconduct".

With 49 Lok Sabha MPs suspended, the total number of opposition parliamentarians suspended from the two Houses has gone up to 141. The winter session will conclude on December 22.

When asked about the INDIA bloc meeting, Priyanka Chaturvedi said that this meeting is important after the dictatorial behaviour of the central government.

Lashing out at the ruling BJP government, she said, "This meeting becomes even more important after the dictatorial behaviour of the central government. The way they are misusing their powers, it is important that people know about it. It is important to tell the people that today it is happening with the Members of Parliament, and it can happen with them as well. Whatever decision is being made will be made after the agreement of everyone."

The bloc will come together for its fourth meeting on Tuesday. Seat-sharing for next year's Lok Sabha elections is likely to figure prominently in the discussions at the huddle, according to sources.

Seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, which are just four months away, is likely to be at the top of the agenda for the next INDIA bloc meeting and will be crucial for the Congress, especially after its poll drubbing in the heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

The inaugural meeting of the combined opposition was convened in Patna on June 23, at the initiative of Nitish, while the second was hosted in Bengaluru on July 17-18.

The third meeting of the opposition alliance was organised in Mumbai over two days -- on August 31 and September 1.

The alliance, led by the Congress, took shape with the primary objective of mounting a combined challenge to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in next year's general elections.

At the Mumbai meeting, the partners in the opposition bloc adopted resolutions to collectively contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalised as soon as possible through a 'spirit of give-and-take'.

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