A day after 78 Members of Parliament were suspended from both Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, 49 more were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, taking the total number of MPs suspended in the Winter Session to 141.
Among those who were suspended on Tuesday for disrupting the House proceedings included Farooq Abdullah (National Conference), Shashi Tharoor (INC), Manish Tewari (INC), Karti Chidambaram (INC), Dimple Yadav (SP), Supriya Sule (NCP), etc.
The Congress party condemned the suspensions of the Opposition MPs as “an attack on the voice of the citizens of the country.”
What could be more shameful than if asking questions in the House becomes a crime? the party asked while stating that the public has given the MPs the responsibility to ask questions and asserted that they will fulfill this responsibility at all costs.
The Opposition are demanding statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a detailed discussion on the security lapse that took place in the Lok Sabha chamber on 13th December 2023. Two people entered the House with passes issued by BJP MP from Karnataka, Pratap Simha and jumped from the gallery when the house was in Session. They then opened cannisters that released coloured gas and shouted slogans.
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PM Modi and Amit Shah had both spoken about the incident outside the Parliament but not made statements inside the House. According to ANI, PM Modi speaking at the BJP Parliamentary Party Meeting on Tuesday condemned the security breach and at the same time criticized the Opposition for “giving muted and indirect support to their act.” He also reportedly stated that the “Opposition is letting out its frustration of losing in the election and giving political spin to the entire act.”
On 16th December 2023, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said to reporters that the reason behind the protests was unemployment. “The youth are desperate – we have to focus on this issue, give jobs to the youth,” he had said.
On Tuesday, speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram accused the BJP of downplaying the incident. He said that if the intruders had poisonous substances in their canisters, the consequences would have been severe. Chidambaram stated that the the only reason the PM and the Union Home Minister were not giving a statement was solely due to “arrogance”. “Opposition MPs are being suspended because we are persisting in our demand. Does the BJP want an opposition-less Parliament?” he questioned.
Adhir Chowdhury, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, who was among those suspended on Monday remarked, “It is nothing but anarchy inside the Parliament. The BJP govt does not have an iota of faith in the parliamentary system of our country.”
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated on X that BJP is completely decimating the Opposition so that dangerous bills can be passed without any meaningful debate. “This is also happening so that the BJP MPs who got the two accused admitted into the Lok Sabha on December 13 are clean,” he added
Meanwhile leaders from Opposition parties have arrived at Hotel Ashoka in New Delhi for the INDIA alliance meeting.
