A total of 14 Parliamentarians from the Opposition benches, including one from the Rajya Sabha, were suspended on Thursday for the remaining period of the Winter Session on charges of disrupting proceedings in Parliament. Thirteen Opposition MPs from different parties were suspended from the Lok Sabha, while one TMC MP, Derek O’Brien, faced the action in the upper house.
Amid demands from the opposition for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the security breach in the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved two resolutions on separate occasions for the suspension of the MPs.
Before their suspension, the MPs moved into the Well of the House, raising slogans and demanding a statement from the government on Wednesday’s security breach.
The Lok Sabha witnessed its first adjournment during the question hour, as it was adjourned until 2 pm amid the opposition’s uproar. At 2 pm, Joshi read a statement on behalf of the government, stating that internal security in Parliament falls under the purview of the Speaker. He then moved a resolution amid the chaos to suspend five MPs.
“I move the following, that this House, having noted the misconduct of TN Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas, and Dean Kuriakose, in utter disregard to the House and the authority of this Chair, and having been named by the Chair... to be suspended from the service of the House for the remainder of the session,” the resolution read.
The House was then adjourned until 3 pm. When the House reconvened at 3 pm, Joshi moved a second resolution to suspend VK Sreekandan (Cong), Benny Behanan (Cong), Mohammad Jawed (Cong), PR Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K Subbarayan (CPI), SR Parthiban (DMK), S Venkatesan (CPI-M), and Manickam Tagore (Cong).
Later, it was claimed that Prathiban was named among the suspended MPs even though he was not present in Delhi and was in Chennai.
The House was adjourned to meet again on Friday. Subsequently, the government withdrew the suspension of DMK MP SR Parthiban from the Lok Sabha as he was not present in the House, and his name was included among those to be suspended by mistake.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced that Parthiban’s name has been withdrawn from the list of Lok Sabha members suspended earlier in the day due to a mistake on the part of the staff in identifying the member. Joshi stated, ‘I have requested the Speaker to drop the name of the member as it was a case of mistaken identity,’ and the Speaker has agreed to the suggestion.
Meanwhile, some of the suspended members continued to protest in the House even after the adjournment. A few of them came out after some time. The Winter Session of Parliament, which started on December 4, will conclude on December 22.
In a statement, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi emphasised, ‘We all agree’ that the unfortunate incident on Wednesday was a serious matter concerning the safety and security of MPs.
Joshi noted that it should be appreciated that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla promptly held a meeting with floor leaders following the incident and listened to suggestions for further strengthening Parliament security.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced that Parthiban’s name has been withdrawn from the list of Lok Sabha members suspended earlier in the day due to a mistake on the part of the staff in identifying the member. Joshi stated, ‘I have requested the Speaker to drop the name of the member as it was a case of mistaken identity,’ and the Speaker has agreed to the suggestion.
Meanwhile, some of the suspended members continued to protest in the House even after the adjournment. A few of them came out after some time. The Winter Session of Parliament, which started on December 4, will conclude on December 22.
In a statement, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi emphasized, ‘We all agree’ that the unfortunate incident on Wednesday was a serious matter concerning the safety and security of MPs.
Joshi noted that it should be appreciated that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla promptly held a meeting with floor leaders following the incident and listened to suggestions for further strengthening Parliament security.
Some of the suggestions given by MPs have already been implemented, he said, and noted that the Speaker himself has stated that further measures will be taken to strengthen the security of Parliament. ‘In my opinion, this matter concerns all of us, and we have to speak in one voice,’ Joshi said.
On such a ‘grave national issue,’ no politics is expected to be done by anyone, the minister asserted. Joshi called on all MPs to rise above party politics. He also listed past incidents when such a breach of security has happened in Parliament, noting that incidents such as slogan-shouting, throwing of papers, and jumping from the gallery have happened in the past also.
‘In the past also, many such incidents have taken place. I am not comparing past incidents and defending yesterday’s incident, but we have to learn lessons from the past,’ he said.
On April 11, 1974, one person shouted slogans from the visitors’ gallery, besides carrying two pistols, one object looking like a bomb, and some pamphlets, Joshi said. He said on July 26, 1974, a person was caught with a dagger trying to enter the visitors’ gallery. On November 26, 1974, a person carried an explosive and a dagger to the visitors’ gallery, he pointed out. On January 9 and 10, 1999, two people jumped from the public gallery to the Lok Sabha chamber, Joshi said.
Asserting that the Speaker is the custodian of the Parliament House complex, the minister said the internal security of Parliament House is under the purview of the Speaker. ‘I want to emphasize that, in the past also, all such matters have been dealt with as per the directions of the Speaker... This incident is clearly a grave contempt of this House, and this House is at liberty to deal with it as per the Constitution and the rules of procedure of the conduct of business,’ Joshi said.
From the point of view of the violation of other laws, appropriate agencies will be dealing with this incident as per the law of the land, he added. The minister informed the House that the Speaker has written a letter to the Home Secretary for a high-level inquiry, and the probe has already begun.
Joshi also said that it has become the habit of some members to politicize all issues. ‘I request them not to politicise the issue,’ he said. He said the Speaker and the government both are dealing with the matter sensitively.
‘I request that proceedings be taken forward. I urge them (opposition) to take it forward, and a debate take place on an important bill,’ he said. Three bills seeking to replace the existing criminal laws were listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday but could not be taken up due to the uproar.
In the Rajya Sabha, O’Brien was suspended by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for the remainder of the Winter session for ‘unruly behavior’ and ‘misconduct.’ Leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved a motion in this regard, which was passed by the House.
The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned until Friday amid protests by opposition members over the suspension of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien.
When the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 4 pm after two adjournments in the post-lunch session, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked suspended member O’Brien to leave the House in compliance with the order passed.
According to Dhankhar, O’Brien staying put in the House was a serious violation and a willful defiance of the order. Subsequently, leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved a resolution under Rule 192 to refer the issue to the committee of privileges of the Rajya Sabha. It was immediately taken up by the chairman and passed by a voice vote. ‘The motion is adopted. The matter stands referred to the committee of privileges of the Rajya Sabha for examination, investigation, and report within a period of three months,’ Dhankhar said.
He again urged O’Brien to leave the house, but the latter did not oblige. The Opposition members continued with their protest, and amidst the uproar, the chairman adjourned the House proceedings until Friday.
Trinamool Congress MP in Rajya Sabha Dola Sen slammed the government over the suspension and said O’Brien was within his rights when he went to the Well of the House demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah over the Lok Sabha security breach.
‘This is about national security; it is our duty as Opposition to raise the issue. If the Home Minister would have made a statement in the House, this situation would not have arisen. It is our right in Opposition to raise the issue, so we went to the Well and raised slogans. If they want to suspend us for that, they can do it... ‘Modi has to mumkin hai’.
‘What did he say? He wanted to raise the issue of a security breach. If the Opposition leader has to be suspended for demanding a statement, they can do it; we will not be quiet,’ said Sen, as she accused the government of avoiding a discussion on the issue.
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said the Chairman should reconsider his decision. ‘If MPs don’t raise their voice, what is the point? Two people, who came through a BJP MP, breached the security of the temple of democracy. Whether it was a smoke bomb or color bomb... A bomb reached the House,’ said Tiwari.
‘In such a situation, if we are demanding a discussion in Rajya Sabha, and demand a statement from the Minister, I think it is a valid reason. I blame the government (for O’Brien’s suspension), we want the Chairman to reconsider his decision. It is an issue of national security,’ he said.
Derek O’Brien held a silent protest in the Parliament complex after he was suspended. He walked out of the Parliament building with a placard hanging around his neck which read ‘Silent Protest.’ He refused to speak on the issue.
