Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday brought up the issue of suspension of 25 Congress MPs during the monsoon session, saying she hoped the chair would not have to resort to such a step in future."Ever since the session began (on July 21), some members have been coming into the well of the house and disrupting proceedings. I requested them not to show placards and come into the well of the house, though they have a right to register their protest," Mahajan said in her valedictory speech just before she adjourned the house sine die."I also impressed upon the leaders that under the parliamentary system, every issue can be discussed and a solution can be found. But since the members continued to persistently disrupt the proceedings, I had to suspend them for five days"."I had to take this tough action as a last resort and last option. I am sure that the chair will not be forced to resort to this step in future," she said.
The Congress and other opposition parties had boycotted the Lok Sabha for five days following the suspension of its MPs.Earlier, as soon as the house assembled in the morning, several opposition members staged a walkout after sloganeering.The walkout took place when the speaker told them that she had rejected the notices of adjournment motion moved by members of the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal but they were free to raise the issues later.Congress members rushed near the speaker's podium holding placards and raising slogans. They were joined by members from the Left parties as the house took up the question hour amid the din.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose reply was sought by the opposition on the Lalit Modi issue, was present in the house.