The suspensions spree continued in Parliament with 49 more Lok Sabha MPs from the Opposition benches suspended from the House for disrupting proceedings on Tuesday. This comes a day after 78 opposition members were suspended from Parliament. The Opposition criticised the government, calling Parliament a graveyard of the Constitution and comparing it to the North Korean assembly.
The total number of sitting Parliamentarians suspended during this Winter Session, combining the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, now stands at 141. Before resuming the morning session of Parliament, the constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc decided to strongly raise the demand for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach issue in both Houses.
The last time such a large number of MPs were suspended was under the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on March 15, 1989, by then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar. A total of 63 MPs from the Opposition benches were suspended for the remainder of the week, which was three days during the Budget Session. The suspended MPs included VP Singh, Somnath Chatterjee, VC Shukla, Indrajit Gupta, and S Jaipal Reddy during the 8th Lok Sabha, sources said.
In the current Parliament, the Opposition side has lost more than two thirds of its strength for the duration of the Winter Session, and only nine MPs of the principal Opposition Congress, including former party presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are left in the Lok Sabha.
The MPs suspended on Tuesday include National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, and Karti Chidambaram, as well as Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, while moving a motion for the suspension of the MPs, accused the protesting members of being “frustrated” over the recent Assembly election results.
“INDIA Bloc MPs have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament on December 13. They had agreed not to bring placards. They are frustrated with their loss, so they take such steps. These people will not come back to the House next time if this behavior continues,” Joshi said.
“They are insulting the chair and the people of India by bringing placards,” he added.
Joshi also informed the Rajya Sabha and regretted the fact that members of the Opposition had disgraced the upper house presiding officer, who is also the Vice President of India, by making fun and mimicking in public.
Joshi sought immediate apologies to the Chair for having insulted him, and given their track record, similar things Congress has done in the past by also mocking the first tribal President of India.
Amidst the ruckus, Parliament passed a bill extending protection from punitive action against unauthorised developments in Delhi for three years beyond December 31. Earlier in the day, The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Act, 2023, was passed by a voice vote in Lok Sabha after a brief discussion in which three members participated. In the Upper House, eight members participated in the discussions on the bill, and it was passed by a voice vote.
In an unprecedented move, 78 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament on Monday, marking the highest number of suspensions in a single day. This action drew sharp criticism from the Congress and other parties, accusing the BJP government of attempting to bulldoze key legislations in an “Opposition-less” Parliament.
An additional 49 Lok Sabha members were suspended on Tuesday for disrupting House proceedings.
The action taken on Tuesday has brought the total number of suspended opposition MPs from both houses to 141 since last Thursday. AAP member Sanjay Singh has been suspended as a Rajya Sabha member since July 24, and TMC’s Derek O’Brien in the ensuing session.
The INDIA bloc parties had a strength of 138 in Lok Sabha, of which 43 MPs are now left in the House.
Congress’ floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Trinamool Congress’ floor leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay are among those suspended in the Lok Sabha. So far, 13 of the 22 Trinamool Congress MPs have been suspended.
From the DMK, which has a strength of 24 members in the House, 16 MPs have been suspended. Aam Aadmi Party’s lone Lok Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Rinku was also suspended.
While three NCP MPs belonging to the Sharad Pawar faction, including floor leader Supriya Sule, have been suspended out of the four who are supporting the opposition, from the National Conference, two of the three MPs, including Farooq Abdullah, were suspended.
None of the six MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) have been suspended so far. All three MPs of the IUML, one each MP from VCK and RSP, two of the three Samajwadi Party MPs, including Dimple Yadav, two of three MPs of the CPI(M), and one of the two MPs of CPI have been suspended. Danish Ali, who was recently suspended from his parent party BSP, is also among the MPs suspended from the Lower House. The BSP is not a part of the opposition bloc.
Reacting strongly to the developments, former NDA partner Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “The graveyard of the constitution is visible here. Opposition MPs whose job is to raise questions in Parliament are thrown for doing their job...This is the new India... See it,” she said outside Parliament.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said Parliament will soon resemble the North Korean assembly. “We are going to resemble the North Korean assembly, and the only thing missing is synchronised clapping when the PM walks in. This is going to be a token house,” he said.
