NEW DELHI: In a complete breakdown of communication between the Opposition parties and the government in Parliament on Monday, as many as 78 Opposition MPs were suspended for allegedly disrupting proceedings and displaying placards in the House over the Lok Sabha security breach last week.
The suspended members include 45 from the Rajya Sabha and 33 from the Lok Sabha. With this, the total number of suspended Opposition MPs has gone up to 92 since last Thursday. On December 14, a total of 14 MPs were suspended for demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the December 13 intrusion.
This also marks the highest number of MPs suspended from both Houses in a day. In 1989, 63 members of the Lower House were suspended on March 15 over tabling of the report of the Justice Thakkar Committee that inquired into the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The suspension on Monday came after both Houses witnessed chaos and multiple adjournments as the Opposition refused to budge. In the Lok Sabha, the suspended members include floor leaders of the Congress (Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and his deputy Gaurav Gogoi) and DMK (T R Baalu).
As soon as the Lok Sabha convened in the morning, Speaker Om Birla assured all members that a high-level panel is looking into the security breach. “It is unfortunate that politics is being played on the issue. To enter the well of the house and do sloganeering and disrupt the proceedings is against the sanctity of the House,” he said.
Though Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi appealed to the Opposition to accept the Speaker’s request, the members continued with sloganeering and moved into the well of the House.
Later, Joshi moved a motion suspending 30 members from the House for the remaining part of the Winter Session. The suspension of three Congress MPs has been referred to the Privileges Committee.
Slamming the suspension of Opposition MPs, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the government is trying to bulldoze important draft legislations in an “Opposition-less” Parliament.