Lok Sabha Speaker referred the pepper spray incident to Committee of Privileges

The speaker of Lok Sabha, Meria Kumar on 16 February 2014 referred the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha to the Privileges Committee.

The 15 member Committee headed by senior Congress leader P C Chacko has power to take punitive measures. The Punitive measure includes recommending imprisonment and even expulsion among others.

The incident occurred in the Parliament on 13 February 2014, pepper spray was used in the Loksabha resulting in hospitalization of three MPs (Member of Parliamentarians) following a disturbance over introduction of the Telangana bill. Later congress member L Rajagopal was expelled and 16 Seemandhra MPs were suspended.

About Committee of Privileges

Committee of Privileges functions are semi judicial in nature. It examines the cases of breach of privileges of the House and its members and recommends appropriate action.

The Lok Sabha committee has 15 members while the Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members.