Privilege Committee of LS to meet on Friday to probe Adhir 'misconduct'

NEW DELHI: The Privilege Committee of the Lok Sabha will meet on Friday to probe the "repeated misconduct" of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who was suspended from the Lower House last week. The committee chaired by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Singh is set to deliberate on the motion adopted by the Lok Sabha on August 10 on the "gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct of Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, MP in utter disregard to the House and authority of the Chair leading to his suspension from the service of the House with effect from 10 August 2023".

Earlier on August 10, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution on the suspension of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House.

"This House having taken serious note of the gross, deliberate and repeated misconduct of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in utter disregard to the House and authority of Chair resolve that the matter of his misconduct be referred to Committee of Privileges of the House for the further investigation and report to the House and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury be suspended from the service of the House till the Committee submits its report," the resolution read.

The resolution was passed by a voice vote. The resolution was moved after certain remarks by Chowdhury on the prime minister during the no-confidence motion debate triggered outrage from the Treasury Benches. Reacting to his suspension, the Congress MP said that suspending members from the House will "undermine the spirit of Parliamentary democracy" and termed the practice as a "deliberate design by the ruling party to throttle the voice of the Opposition".

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi termed Chowdhury's actions as "habitual and deliberate". The Monsoon Session, 2023 of Parliament which commenced on July 20, 2023, was adjourned sine die on Friday. The Session provided 17 sittings spread over a period of 23 days.