BJP moves to get Rahul suspended from LS if he does not apologise

Both Houses adjourned for day amid Opposition, govt face-off over Rahul’s remarks

NEW DELHI: According to BJP sources, the ruling party has initiated moves to suspend Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha if he does not apologise in the House for remarks in the UK on Indian democracy.

Sources said that the party has already approached Speaker Om Birla and requested him to form a special committee to explore the possibility of suspending the Wayanad MP from the House. BJP sources said the matter is "not just a privilege issue, it's much beyond that".

According to sources, the party has approached the Speaker to constitute a special committee on the lines of the panel constituted to look into the cash-for-query scandal in 2005. A special committee, led by Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal, probed the charges against 10 Lok Sabha MPs and held that their continuance was "untenable" - it led to their expulsion.

If a special committee is formed, the BJP will have a majority in it given its strength in Lok Sabha. A special committee usually submits its report in a month.

Stepping up their attack on Rahul Gandhi for his remark in the UK, BJP leaders, including Union ministers, on Thursday demanded an apology from the Congress leader insisting that he was "not above Parliament".

However, Congress leaders have ruled out an apology by Gandhi, who met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought permission to respond in Parliament to the allegations levelled against him.

Meanwhile, the proceedings in Parliament were disrupted for the fourth straight day on Thursday as the Opposition and treasury benches remained at loggerheads over Rahul Gandhi's democracy remarks and the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue.

Lok Sabha was adjourned Thursday with proceedings lasting just three minutes through the day. In the morning session, the House proceedings had lasted only for two minutes.