Congress summons Lok Sabha MPs meeting to address suspension of LoP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

New Delhi, August 11: The Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, has convened a gathering of the party's Lok Sabha MPs for discussions slated to take place on Friday morning. The primary agenda of the meeting revolves around the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a prominent Congress MP and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Sources within the party have indicated that the meeting is scheduled to convene at the party's parliamentary office at 10:30 am on the specified day. A party source confirmed, "The Congress Lok Sabha MPs meeting called by CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is scheduled at 10.30 AM today to discuss the suspension of the leader of opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha."

The decision to suspend Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was triggered by a resolution put forth by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, on Thursday evening during a session in the Lok Sabha. Joshi justified the suspension by asserting that Chowdhury consistently disrupts parliamentary proceedings, particularly when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers are addressing the House or during debates.

The resolution was subsequently approved through a voice vote. The urgency to suspend Chowdhury arose after his comments regarding the Prime Minister during a no-confidence motion debate provoked strong reactions from the government benches.

Reacting to his suspension pending investigation by the privileges committee, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader, defended his statements. He emphasized that his use of the term 'Nirav' was not intended as an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but rather a metaphorical expression for silence. He clarified, "I have not insulted PM Modi. Modi ji speaks on everything but on Manipur issue, he is sitting 'Nirav', which means sitting silent. 'Nirav' means to be silent. My intention was not to insult PM Modi."

Chowdhury further elucidated that while his intention was not to insult the Prime Minister, certain courtiers (darbari) took offense to his statements and initiated the proposal for suspension. He acknowledged that the matter has been referred to the privileges committee and that he has been subsequently suspended.

Additionally, Chowdhury accused Prime Minister Modi of regularly disparaging figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, suggesting that such instances are well-documented. Despite these controversies, he expressed his willingness to accept the consequences of his actions, asserting, "I am ready to face the punishment but everything is on record, and citizens of the country should know that there was no attempt to insult the PM."

Chowdhury concluded by highlighting the context within which he made the 'Nirav' remark, specifically in reference to the Manipur issue. He underlined that his intention was not to cast aspersions on the Prime Minister's character but to draw attention to specific matters within the broader parliamentary discourse.

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- ANI

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