Dec 9, 2023, 05:29 PM IST
Leader of the Trinamool Congress Mahua Moitra was banished from the Lok Sabha on Friday, following the adoption of the committee's report by the house, which found her guilty of receiving gifts and illicit reward from a businessman to serve his interests.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tabled a motion to eject the Trinamool member for "unethical conduct" during a contentious debate over the panel report that was put before the lower house. The motion was approved by voice vote.
HG Mudgal: The first-ever expulsion of a Member of Parliament from the chamber was the Congress MP. Mudgal was forced to leave the Parliament in 1951 after it was discovered that he had accepted bribes from a business association in exchange for privileges.
A resolution put up by the then-prime minister, Morarji Desai, on December 14, 1978, and approved by the assembly, served as the basis for the removal of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Upon putting the resolution to a vote, 279 members of parliament supported it, while 138 opposed it. In a democracy, Indira Gandhi was the first former prime minister to be charged with violating her privilege.
A day after being found guilty of criminal defamation and given a two-year jail sentence for his remarks regarding the "Modi surname" made before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was expelled from the Lok Sabha.
However, in August, his membership in the Lok Sabha was reinstated after the Supreme Court overturned his verdict in the defamation case.
Ten members of the Lok Sabha, including Manoj Kumar (RJD) and Ramsevak Singh from the Congress, Annasahed M K Patil, Y G Mahajan, Suresh Chandel, Pradeep Gandhi, and Chandra Pratap Singh of BJP, and Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Lal Chandra Kol, and Rajaram Pal from the BSP, saw removal in 2005.
All photos credit: Zee Medi Bureau/ File
They were seen on camera taking money in exchange for asking questions in the House, which prompted the decision.