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The suspension of eight Opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha will not be revoked despite talks to restore normal proceedings, sources have told CNN-News18.
Members attend proceedings in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament (Photo: PTI)
The suspension of eight Opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha will not be revoked, even though talks are underway between the Treasury benches and Opposition parties to restore normal functioning in the House, sources told CNN-News18.
The disciplinary action imposed earlier this month will continue for the remainder of the Budget Session, which ends on April 2.
The MPs, seven belonging to the Congress and one from the CPI(M), were suspended after an uproar during proceedings in the House.
The disorder was linked to objections raised when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was disallowed from quoting an article that cited an unpublished memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict.
The confrontation escalated after Gandhi attempted for a second consecutive day to raise the issue during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other Treasury bench members objected, and the Chair ruled that the reference could not be made.
Gandhi then told Speaker Om Birla that he had authenticated the document he wished to cite, and called “a blot on our democracy” that he was prevented from speaking.
As the standoff deepened, Opposition MPs raised slogans, some moved towards the secretary-general’s table, tore papers and threw them in the direction of the Chair, conduct that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later described in the House as showing “utter disregard” for parliamentary authority.
Rijiju moved a resolution seeking the suspension of eight members for the rest of the session, which was adopted by voice vote amid continuing uproar.
The suspended MPs later protested outside Parliament, accusing the government of stifling dissent.
One said the action was “an attack on democracy”, while another alleged that Gandhi had been deliberately prevented from speaking.
Presiding officer Krishna Prasad Tenneti was quoted as saying that members had behaved inappropriately, including addressing the Chair in informal terms and subsequently throwing papers on the floor of the House.
Apart from the Naravane memoir controversy, the sitting was also disrupted by Opposition protests over remarks by US President Donald Trump on an India-US trade deal and allegations concerning a demolition drive at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, leading to repeated adjournments.
February 11, 2026, 18:45 IST
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