Nineteen opposition members of parliament (MPs) were suspended from Rajya Sabha today for “unruly behaviour” while protesting against government over inflation in the House.

The suspension came a day after action was taken by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla against four Congress MPs for similar reason for the entire monsoon session ending on August 12.

The 19 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs including seven from Mamata Banerji’s Trinamul Congress (TMC) will be barred for a week to attend the monsoon session of Parliament, reports said.

“The decision to suspend opposition MPs from Rajya Sabha was taken with a heavy heart. They kept on ignoring the Chairman’s appeal,” said Piyush Goyal of ruling BJP.

After the suspension, TMC leader Derek, O’Brien told media, “This government has suspended democracy.”

The House was adjourned for one hour as the suspended MPs continued to protest the action taken against the opposition MPs.

This is for the first time in several years that action has been taken against so many parliamentarians. In January 2019, the then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 45 members of the TDP and AIADMK for disrupting proceedings for days, reports added.