NEW DELHI: Amidst heavy commotion and high drama in the upper house of the Parliament, Santanu Sen a member of parliament (MP) from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) snatched the papers from the hands of the IT minister in the Rajya Sabha, tore it and threw it towards the Deputy Chairman.

As Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw rose to speak on the Pegasus snooping controversy, the opposition MPs rushed to the well of the house and raised slogans against the government and during this din, Sen snatched the statement being red by the minister and threw it towards Harivansh Narayan Singh the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. 

The Minister could not complete his statement and instead laid a copy of it on the table of the House.

Later in the day, Sen alleged that Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri rudely gesticulated and abused him in the House and was on the verge of physically assaulting him before he was rescued by colleagues. Speaking at a media conference in New Delhi, Sen said that he was intimidated and threatened inside the house and the party would be taking up the matter with the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Considering the misbehaviour of the TMC member of the house, it now looks evident that the government will move a motion on Friday seeking suspension of Sen for the rest of the session. 

Since the beginning of the monsoon session of the parliament on Monday, proceedings of both the houses have remained paralysed as opposition members led by Congress Party and TMC, have been protesting over a number of issues including the contentious farm laws and the Pegasus snooping controversy.

The government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dubbed the reports of spyware surveillance as a concocted and fabricated story.