New Delhi: In an unprecedented action, 78 MPs were suspended Monday from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in Winter Session after the Opposition remained adamant on debate over Parliament intrusion and stormed well in both Houses.
While 33 MPs were suspended in the Lok Sabha, 45 were suspended in the Rajya Sabha. Last week, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had suspended 13 MPs while another member faced the same action in the Rajya Sabha.
With the suspension of 92 members in one session, the Modi government has surpassed the Rajiv Gandhi dispensation’s record of barring 63 Lok Sabha MPs for a week in 1989 following the commotion over tabling of the Justice Thakkar Commission report on the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Since 2019, the Modi government has used suspension of MPs in both Houses more than 150 times to rein in unyielding opposition members.
As Parliamentary proceedings resumed Monday amidst deadlock over the security breach, the scene was no different as several adjournments took place in both the Houses.
After the Post Office Bill, 2023 was passed in second half in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal, who presided over the House, named several MPs who were protesting to demand a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Parliament security breach.
Six people have been arrested in connection with the security breach that took place on 13 December, the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
The opposition MPs kept sloganeering inside the House with chants of ‘BJP Jawab Doh (BJP reply us)’ and ‘Sadan Sae Bhagna Bandh Karo (Stop running away from House)’ despite Speaker Om Birla informing the members at the outset that a “committee was constituted”.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, who was also suspended later, sought to know why the PM was not making a statement in the House. “Why is the prime minister speaking outside Parliament on security breach and avoiding MPs?”
After Question Hour adjournment in Lok Sabha, Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnav presented Telecommunications Bill, 2023 amid protest following which Agrawal adjourned the House till noon.
As the Lok Sabha sat again, the government passed the Post Office Bill within 16 minutes of proceeding even as there was a thin presence of members. In the afternoon session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion for suspension of 30 members for the rest of the winter session which was passed by the Speaker amid protests.
Leader of the Congress party in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, DMK’s A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran, TMC’s Saugata Roy were among the MPs suspended Monday.
Another three members — K. Jayakumar, Vijay Vasanth and Abdul Khaleque — who climbed on the Speaker’s podium to raise slogans, were suspended pending a report from the Privileges Committee.
Winter Session | A total of 33 Opposition MPs, including Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, suspended from the Parliament today for the remainder of the Session. pic.twitter.com/zbUpeMaHmU
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2023
After suspension, Choudhary told the media that the home minister gives statements to television everyday and that he can speak about Parliament security breach in the House, too. “Today, the government has reached the height of tyranny,” he said.
While suspending the MPs in the Upper House, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that they have faced action for ‘shouting slogans’, ‘indecorous conduct’ and ‘entering the Well of the House’, thereby sending a very wrong signal.
During the day, the members of the opposition could be heard shouting slogans like ‘Jawab Doh, Jawab Doh (Give response)’ and ‘Griha Mantri Sadan Mein Aao (Home minister return to the House)’.
Even after the Chair asked the suspended MPs to leave, the sloganeering continued in the house, resulting in adjournment of the Rajya Sabha. “This House is of the opinion that the dignity of the Upper House, that is the House of Elders… has been sacrileged by the misconduct of the members,” Dhankhar said.
Commenting on the suspension of 45 MPs, including Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal of the Congress and Ramgopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Leader of the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal remarked that it was “a sad day of Parliament, when members did not follow the rule of the House.”
“All democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin… We have two simple demands — the Union home minister should make a statement in both Houses on the inexcusable breach in parliament security and a detailed discussion should happen. The PM can give an interview to a newspaper, the home minister can give an interview to a tv channel, but they’ve zero accountability left to Parliament which represents the people of India…,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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