As Parliament begins the Winter Session, the government is considering tabling a proposal for the suspension of 20 Opposition MPs who created a ruckus in the House the last time it functioned during the Monsoon Session, sources said.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had urged Rajya Saba Chairman Venkaiah Naidu in August to form a special committee that would investigate the House proceedings in detail and take strict action against such MPs. He had accused Opposition MPs of disrespecting Parliament by standing on tables, breaking glasses and manhandling women marshals.

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WHAT HAPPENED DURING MONSOON SESSION

The Monsoon Session was scheduled to end on August 13, but both the Houses had to be adjourned sine die two days early due to constant disruptions and protests over the Pegasus snooping row and the three farm laws. The Opposition and the Centre blamed one another for the commotion.

On August 11, several Opposition MPs climbed on the officials’ table, waved black cloth and threw files when the House began a discussion on farmers’ protest against new reform laws. Many stood on the table where the parliamentary staff sits right below the chair, while others crowded around it shouting anti-government slogans.

WHAT GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION SAID

The pandemonium triggered a war of words between the government and the Opposition. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi alleged that the Opposition members manhandled marshals amid rumpus in the Rajya Sabha. The Opposition countered, saying the marshals assaulted the protesting MPs.

Some women Congress MPs of the Rajya Sabha alleged that they had been manhandled by male marshals while they were protesting in the Well of the house. “For the first time in the history of our country, members of the Rajya Sabha were manhandled and physically beaten. This was nothing short of murder of democracy,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.

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Both sides demanded inquiry with the Opposition alleging that “outsiders” were brought into the Parliament to “thrash” MPs on August 12. However, Union Minister Piyush Goyal refuted these allegations and said no outsider was brought in when a scuffle broke out in Rajya Sabha.