New Delhi: Seven members of India’s upper house of parliament

were suspended today for their unruly protests against a proposed law that would reserve a

third of all seats in the legislature for women.

The government attempted to introduce the legislation on Monday, International Women’s Day, sparking uproar in the upper chamber — normally a quieter place than the raucous lower house. The Speaker, Hamid Ansari, ordered the suspensions after members tore up the bill, which would reserve a third of seats in the parliament and state assemblies for women, hurled the scraps of paper at him and tweaked his microphone. “I order the suspension of seven members of parliament for the entire session on charges of unruly behaviour,” announced Ansari, who is also India’s veep.