This was possible due to these members meeting the Speaker in his chamber two days ago and expressing regret for their behavior in the House

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a resolution to lift the suspension of eight of its members, which is a welcome move. This was possible after these members met Speaker Om Birla in his chamber two days ago and expressed regret over their behaviour in the House. Since suspension of members is possible through a resolution passed by the House, restoration of membership cannot be done without the approval of the House. Therefore, Congress representative K. Suresh apologized to the House for the behaviour of the suspended members and sought lifting of the suspension.

In view of this application, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju got the formal resolution passed through a verbal vote. However, during such proceedings, the Speaker had to admonish that such placards, posters, pictures or AI-generated images will not be allowed to be displayed inside the House or the Parliament complex which violate parliamentary etiquette. He also said that any act that hurts the dignity of the House will not be tolerated in future. Seven of the reinstated members belong to the Congress and one is from the CPM. The Congress members include Punjab Pradesh Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Gurjit Singh Aujla (Amritsar).

All of them were suspended on February 3 and the suspension was also till the last day of the current parliamentary session (April 2). This suspension was triggered by the uproar and chaos caused by the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi defying the Speaker's rulings and accusing him of being biased. Such developments did not allow the Lok Sabha to function for five days and also gave rise to a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla. Both these moves backfired on the opposition.

Even after all this has happened, the fact that the opposition and the ruling parties are making serious efforts to remove the bitterness and that these efforts are successful is a sign of the strength of parliamentary traditions and customs in India. But before expressing satisfaction over such strength, there is a need to seriously review the developments of the recent past, feel the mistakes deeply and also sincerely think about steps to prevent their repetition in the future. It is clear that both the Houses of Parliament cannot function properly without the mutual cooperation of the ruling and opposition parties.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for almost five days during the current session because the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, instead of staying within the ambit of parliamentary rules, insisted on his own words while the government party was not ready to give up its stubbornness of imprisoning him within the ambit of rules. This kind of tussle gave rise to unnecessary bitterness and conflict. If both the parties had shown a little generosity, the conflict would have ended easily. But with the assembly elections in four states looming, both the parties got caught in a vicious cycle of divisiveness. The loss was directly to the national exchequer.

The average daily expenditure during a parliamentary session is Rs 6 to 9 crore (Rs 2.5 lakh per minute). This expenditure is borne by the national exchequer itself. The exchequer is based on the taxes paid by the taxpayers. A five-day suspension of parliamentary proceedings means a direct loss of Rs 30 to 45 crore.

Can it be considered justified to do so much harm to the nation just to grab headlines during every session? That is why it is important that the MPs keep their egos in check and show the seriousness of considering national issues honestly by staying in their seats. Numbers can be improved through arguments, not reduced through partisanship. This realization needs to be awakened in our MPs as soon as possible.