File Photo: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

A day after she suspended 25 Congress lawmakers for five days, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday described herself as a caring mother who has to be strict sometimes to control her children."Apne mujhe saumya bola. Lekin kuch log abhi mujhe saumya nahi bhi bol sakte hain. Main saumya hun. (You have described me as gentle, but some may not call me so now. But I am)."A mother sometimes has to be strict to control her children," she said at a book release function here, without referring to the yesterday's episode in Lok Sabha. 25 of Congress party's 44 lawmakers in the House were suspended for causing disruptions which led to nine opposition parties deciding to boycott the proceedings to express solidarity with them.Ms Mahajan ordered their suspension, first major disciplinary action in the present Lok Sabha against its members, for "persistently, wilfully obstructing" the House by displaying placards and shouting slogans.Ms Mahajan on Tuesday presided over the function where a book authored by BJP MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav was released. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who attended the function as chief guest, described Mr Yadav as a grassroots leader who knows very well the pulse of rural India.Mr Singh said if India has to be an economic super power, economic condition in rural areas has to be improved."If there is economic disparity between rural and urban areas, there could be social unrest. So, we have to improve the condition of rural areas," he said.