3 Gujarat Congress MLAs’ suspension term reduced

Three Gujarat Congress MLAs who were suspended from the state assembly over the violence that broke out in the House on March 14 received relief on Tuesday when their suspension term was reduced till the end of the ongoing session.

Congress MLA Pratap Dudhat, who allegedly hit a BJP member with a microphone, and his colleague Amrish Der, who was charged with disobeying, Speaker Rajendra Trivedi’s orders, had been suspended for three years. Another MLA Baldevji Thakor, who allegedly punchedhis BJPrivalsinthe assembly lobby, had been suspended for a year.

On the second last day of state’s budget session, Congress’ chief whip, Shailesh Parmar, withdrew his party’s no-confidence motion against the Speaker, which the opposition party had moved following the “unprecedented” time for which its legislators had been suspended. No state legislator had ever been suspended for more than a session.

The Congress members had earlier in the month also claimed that their request to speak had been repeatedly rejected by Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.

Following the withdrawal of the no-confidence motion, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel proposed to reduce the suspension period of the Congress MLAs till Wednesday, when the session comes to an end.

Parmar assured the House that all three MLAs would tender an apology to the legislators and the Speaker when the assembly meets for the monsoon session.

BJP MLA Jagdish Panchal, who Dudhat had accused of using unparliamentary language that provoked him, apologised in the House on Tuesday.

“Efforts by the party has resulted in the reduction of the suspension term (but) I am sorry for what happened’’, Dudhat said.

The Congress, which had moved the high court against the suspension order, will be withdrawing its petition in this regard.

AHMEDABAD: