In an extraordinary move, 92 Opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been suspended so far in the ongoing Winter Session after they demanded a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the recent Parliament security breach incident.
The suspended MPs include 46 from Lower House and 46 from Upper House of the Parliament. The suspended MPs include senior Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal. The matter of suspension of 3 MPs from Lok Sabha and 11 from Rajya Sabha has been sent to the Privilege Committee.
The move has created strong condemnation from other Opposition leaders calling it undemocratic. On Thursday, 14 Lok Sabha MPs were suspended for “politicising” the “grave national issue”.
On December 13, two people jumped into the Well from the visitor’s gallery, opened smoke bombs and chanted slogans. Two others – a man and a woman – chanted slogans ‘tanashahi nahi chalegi’ outside the Parliament. All four were handed over to the Delhi Police.
Six members have been accused in the case. Delhi Police has registered a case under the draconian UAPA Act. The sixth accused is currently under seven-day police custody.
“All leaders, including me, have been suspended. We have been demanding for days to reinstate our MPs who were suspended earlier and that the Home Minister come to the House and give a statement. He gives statements to the TV every day and he can speak a little in the Parliament too regarding what is being done by the Government for the security of the Parliament…Today’s Government has reached the heights of tyranny…We wanted discussion,” said Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Democracy in dustbin, tweets Kharge
Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge responded to the development as ‘all democratic norms thrown tweets into a dustbin’. He wrote on X, “First, intruders attacked Parliament. Then Modi Govt attacking Parliament & Democracy. All Democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin by an autocratic Modi Govt by suspending 47 MPs…With an Opposition-Less Parliament, the Modi Govt can now bulldoze important pending legislations, crush any dissent, without any debate.”
Revoke Derek O’Brein’s suspension: Kharge
He wrote to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar urging him to revoke the suspension of the Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien.
In his letter to the Chairman, Kharge said O’Brien was only raising the legitimate demand of INDIA bloc parties for a statement by Shah. “All he was trying to do was to attract your attention so as to raise the collective demand of INDIA parties for a statement by the Minister of Home Affairs on the shocking incident that took place in Lok Sabha on December 13. These are perfectly legitimate demands,” the senior Congressman said.
O’Brien was suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session on December 14. Since December 14, the Trinamool Congress leader has been holding a silent protest in Parliament premises against his suspension.
Rajya Sabha suspends 46 Oppn MPs
Following up with Lok Sabha, the Upper House suspended 46 Opposition MPs, including Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, senior leaders Randeep Surjewala and KC Venugopal after they demanded the Union home minister’s statement on the Parliament security breach incident.
They have been suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session.
Ramesh defined the suspension as ‘MODI – Murder of Democracy in India.’
“Not only in the Lok Sabha, today was a bloodbath in the Rajya Sabha with 45 INDIA party MPs getting suspended for demanding a statement by the Home Minister on the December 13th security breach, and for demanding that the Leader of the Opposition be allowed to speak. Incidentally, I too figure in this Roll of Honour — for the first time in my parliamentary career of 19 years.
This is Murder of Democracy in India(MODI) at work!” he wrote on X.
An embarrassment to country: Goyal
Union minister and Leader of Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said the behaviour of the Congress party and its INDIA bloc alliance members was ‘rude’ and brought an ’embarrassment to the country’.
“The rude behaviour of the Congress and its friendly partners of INDI alliance in both the Houses of Parliament today, and the manner in which several members brought placards in the House, it has embarrassed the entire country. Both the Speaker and the Chairman were insulted today,” he told reporters.
Congress, RJD slams Centre
Meanwhile, senior leaders of Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also slammed the Centre over the suspension of the MPs for the remainder of the Winter Session ending December 22.
On December 14, a total of 13 Lok Sabha MPs were suspended, while one Rajya Sabha MP, Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, was also suspended for the remainder of the session. The Congress dubbed the suspension of the opposition MPs as a shameful attack on Indian democracy, adding that people are seeing how democracy achieved after sacrifices is being trampled.
Hitting out at the government, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “There was a dangerous lapse in the security of the Parliament. But the dictatorial government has suspended opposition MPs who were demanding answers over the negligence.
“The government could not ensure the security of the Parliament, tarnished democracy and, in a way, expelled the entire opposition from the Parliament. This is the most shameful attack on Indian democracy in history. The people of the country are seeing how democracy, which was achieved based on millions of sacrifices, is being trampled.”
Meanwhile, RJD leader Manoj Jha, who has also been suspended, slammed the government saying that today’s date will get recorded in history as 92 MPs have been suspended for raising questions over the Parliament security breach.
Jha said that he does not know who is guiding the government but the temptation for power is giving rise to dictatorship.
The RJD leader said that all the MPs suspended for demanding a statement on Parliament security breach are taking it (suspension) as a badge of honor and recognition for raising questions to those in power.
