In a significant escalation of tension between the Opposition and the government, a total of 78 Members of Parliament were suspended from both Houses on Monday. The MPs were suspended for staging protests in demand of a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament last week.
Fourteen MPs had been suspended last week, also for demanding a statement on the security breach. This brings the overall count of suspended MPs in this winter session to 92, marking an unprecedented development in the history of the Indian Parliament.
Venting out frustration after poll routs: PM Modi calls out Oppn for 'political spin' to Parliament security breach
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) December 19, 2023
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/r9FJB4hexS#BJP #PMModi #Parliament pic.twitter.com/dP60IxCqg3
In Lok Sabha, 30 MPs have been suspended for the remainder of the session and three have been suspended till the privileges committee submits a report on their conduct. As for Rajya Sabha, 35 members have been suspended for the rest of the session and 11 till a report by the privileges panel.
Some of those suspended include the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK floor leader T.R. Baalu, former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, and Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy. Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien had been suspended after he demanded a discussion on the breach.
#WATCH | On 49 more opposition MPs suspended from Parliament for the remainder of Winter Session, BSP MP Shyam Singh Yadav says, “Never in India’s democratic history has one seen suspension of so many MPs from the Parliament. This shows that the governing party has become very… pic.twitter.com/ukNvLdWuQb
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2023
Total Number of MPs suspended:
33 Lok Sabha MPs & 45 Rajya Sabha MPs from the Opposition were suspended from the Parliament on December 18, 2023
13 Lok Sabha MPs & 1 Rajya Sabha MP were suspended earlier on December 14, 2023, for the remainder of the Winter Session for “gross misconduct”
#WATCH | On 49 more opposition MPs suspended from Parliament for the remainder of Winter Session, Congress leader Manish Tewari says, "Parliament has been totally delegitimised. This is to lay the framework for passing the most draconian laws in Parliament…" pic.twitter.com/riawMUy0Hv
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2023
Opposition terms it as “Murder of Democracy”:
“All democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin by an autocratic Modi,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X. Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh, himself suspended from Rajya Sabha, said the suspensions were “the murder of democracy”.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was also suspended, said, “…today’s government has reached the extreme level of dictatorship. They are wielding the stick of ‘bahubalis’ (musclemen) and have suspended everybody”.
Rajya Sabha member and Congress general secretary (organization) K.C. Venugopal said if the Opposition is silenced in Parliament, then “we will make every street echo in protest”.
Trinamool chief whip Kalyan Banerjee and Sougata Roy were among the 33 Lok Sabha members who were suspended. “They want the silence of the graveyard in Parliament,” Mr. Roy said.
DMK leader T.R. Baalu termed the action “unprecedented”, while Rajya Sabha Sabha member from Rashtriya Jana Dal (RJD) called the suspension a “badge of honor that he wears during the dark days of democracy”.
मोदी-शाह ने सदन की गरिमा का अपमान किया है।
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 19, 2023
गंभीर सुरक्षा चूक के बावजूद वो संसद में आकर बयान नहीं देते।
मुझे बहुत दुःख है कि इतिहास में पहली बार इतने सांसदों को ससपेंड किया गया।
ये लोकतंत्र की धज्जियाँ उड़ाने जैसा है, सदन की मर्यादा पर गहरी ठेस है। pic.twitter.com/SK6Tt32MFh
Procedure for Suspension:
The key person responsible for implementing suspensions is the Presiding Officer, who holds the position of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha.
In Lok Sabha, the Speaker acts in accordance with Rules 373, 374, and 374A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. In Rajya Sabha, the Chairman acts as per Rules 255 and 256 of the Rules. The procedure in both Houses is largely similar.
The presiding officers can direct an MP to withdraw from the House for any disorderly conduct, if that does not work and the said MP continues to disrupt the House proceedings, the presiding officer can “name” the legislator. After that, the House can move a motion to suspend the MP until the end of the session.
However, in 2001, the Lok Sabha further empowered the Speaker to deal with “grave and disorderly conduct.” Through this change in rule, an MP “named” by the Speaker shall automatically stand suspended for a period of five days or the remaining part of the session. This rule removes the need for the House to pass a motion for suspension.
Also Read: Oscillating Stands, Changing Times; Congress Dilemma Over Article 370
Rising trend in the suspensions:
The count of suspensions has witnessed an increase in recent years. A minimum of 149 suspensions, encompassing both Houses, has been recorded since 2019. This contrasts with a minimum of 81 suspensions between 2014 and 2019, and a minimum of 36 suspensions from 2009 to 2014.
The suspension of 78 Opposition MPs in a single day had overtaken the previous such instance of large-scale suspension of MPs in 1989 when 63 MPs had been suspended.
Despite all the chaos and protest, the House cleared the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2023, passing both Bills within 15 minutes.
While the Lok Sabha also saw the introduction of the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, and the passage of the Post Office Bill, 2023.
