New Delhi,Dec 19,2023: A total of 78 opposition MPs were suspended from both houses of parliament on Monday, December 18, taking the total of suspended MPs since December 15 to 92. While 33 MPs were suspended in the Lok Sabha, 45 were suspended in the Rajya Sabha.
On December 14, a total of 14 MPs (13 in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha) were suspended.
The suspensions come as both houses of parliament saw repeated adjournments amid calls from opposition MPs for a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the security breach in parliament on December 13, when two men jumped from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha hall and opened smoke canisters.
Earlier on Monday, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that a high-level probe is already looking into the security breach and some of the suggestions given by opposition MPs have been implemented while others will also be looked into.
“It is sad that politics is being done on this. To enter the well of the house and do sloganeering and disrupt the proceedings is against the dignity of the house,” he said.
33 MPs suspended in Lok Sabha on Monday
When the house resumed proceedings in the afternoon, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to suspend 30 opposition MPs for “misconduct” and “utter disregard” to the chair. Three other Congress MPs’ suspension has been referred to the Privileges Committee.
In addition, the duration of suspension of three other MPs from the Congress – K. Jayakumar, Abdul Khaleque, and Vijay Vasanth – will be determined by the Privileges Committee.
45 MPs Suspended in Rajya Sabha on Monday
In the Rajya Sabha leader of the house Piyush Goyal moved a motion to suspend 34 members of the opposition for “misconduct” and “continuously shouting slogans and even entered the well of the house during the course of the day thereby violating the rules of the house.”
In addition, eleven other MPs’ suspension was referred to the Privileges Committee by Goyal to determine the duration of their suspension.
Including TMC’s Derek O’Brien on December 14, a total of 46 MPs have now been suspended from the Rajya Sabha.
“Democratic norms thrown into dustbin”
Following the suspensions on Monday, opposition MPs have lashed out at the Modi government for being “autocratic.”
Rajya Sabha MP and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that “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.” he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added that the opposition’s demands include a statement from Shah on the security breach and a discussion in both houses.
