Congress Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal said that now Parliament is for the suspension of the opposition MPs, not for debate and discussion.”…reports Asian Lite News
In a major escalation of tensions between the Opposition and the BJP-led government at the Centre, 78 MPs were suspended from both Houses of Parliament on Monday, taking the total number of suspended MPs in this session to 92 after which Opposition leaders termed it a “murder of democracy.”
The reason behind the suspension of Opposition MPs for the rest of the Winter Session was cited as “misconduct” and failure to adhere to the directions of the Chair.
But 92 MPs from the Parliament were suspended following a ruckus over the demand by the Opposition of a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah on Parliament security breach incident.
When the Lok Sabha 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.
Meanwhile, of the 45 suspended MPs, 34 have been suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, which concludes on December 22, while 11 have been suspended until the reports of the Rajya Sabha’s Committee of Privileges are received.
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.
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 government by suspending 47 MPs.”
“With an Opposition-Less Parliament, the Modi government 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.
Moreover, Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that this is adverse to Parliamentary democracy.
“It is wrong. This is not democracy. This is adverse to Parliamentary democracy,” he added.
Congress MP Randeep Surjewala said that in the 75 years, perhaps this is the saddest day for Parliamentary democracy.
“In 75 years, perhaps this is the saddest day for Parliamentary democracy. What are the MPs and Opposition of the country saying? We are only demanding that the Union Home Minister should give a statement on the security breach…Stifling the voices of MPs and weakening the entire Opposition, by making it an Opposition-free Parliament – is this democratic?…The suspension of MPs shows the arrogance of Modi Government, it shows that it neither trusts Parliamentary decorum nor the Constitution or democracy of the country,” Surjewala said.
On suspension of Opposition MPs, TMC MP Satabdi Roy said, “It is obvious that 43 MPs have been suspended to protect one MP. This has never happened before…We will be outside the House from tomorrow…Let’s see what further step is taken.”
Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan said that BJP government wants the House to function without opposition.
“BJP government wants the House to function without opposition. They want no opposition MP to be present to ask questions and point out their mistakes…Their only aim is to run the government like Hitler,” Ranjan said.
Moreover, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhya said that BJP wants to suppress the Opposition in Parliamentary democracy.
“BJP wants to suppress the Opposition in Parliamentary democracy. They are trying to gag the voice of the Opposition. We will discuss the matter, there is INDIA Alliance meeting tomorrow…All allies of INDIA Alliance will get closer to each other after this incident,” Bandyopadhya added.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal said that now Parliament is for the suspension of the opposition MPs, not for debate and discussion.”
“The House is functioning with only one purpose that is to suppress the entire voice of the opposition and to suspend maximum people, those who are raising the issues of the people and security…Now Parliament is for the suspension of the opposition MPs, not for debate and discussion,” Venugopal said.
“We take it as a badge of honour to be suspended from Parliament at the hands of a fascist regime. After 47 Lok Sabha MPs, the BJP has also suspended Rajya Sabha MPs to suspend a wholesale 92 opposition leaders. Why stop at 92? Why don’t you score a century in style? The people of India are watching, Mr. Modi. When you silence them in this brutal fashion, they will make their voice heard when it counts. If you silence us in Parliament, we will make every street echo in protest. That is our firm resolve,” he posted on X.
Congress Lok Sabha Chief Whip K Suresh said that we demanded the revoking of the suspension of Lok Sabha MPs.
“We demanded for Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in Lok Sabha. The recent incidents in Lok Sabha are a very serious issue…It is a national security issue. That’s why the Home Minister should come to Lok Sabha and make a statement. But the Government is not ready to do that…We also demanded the revoking of the suspension of Lok Sabha MPs…It was a BJP MP who issued the pass and that pass brought the two youngsters to the gallery…This is a serious security lapse…They are going to suspend all Opposition leaders…They don’t want Opposition Members in Lok Sabha…Without Opposition MPs, they have to pass very important legislations…That is why, they are doing this,” Suresh said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that such tyranny is not acceptable to the country.
“Such tyranny won’t work. It is not acceptable to the country. They received this mandate on the trust of the people. They received the mandate because they had considered national security an important issue. But the most secure building is being attacked today. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister speaks on it. If we demand your statement, you suspended us from the House – this is not acceptable to anyone. We will continue to fight for this…If we are being suspended because we are demanding (statement), then this is a badge of honour for us,” Chaturvedi said.
DMK MP TR Baalu said that the House has to be run peacefully but it depends on the behaviour of the ruling party.
“Today 33 Lok Sabha MPs have been suspended…The House has to be run peacefully but it depends on the behaviour of the ruling party. Nothing like this has happened in the history of the Indian Parliament. The government’s response is very poor,” Baalu said.
Accusing the Congress and its allies of “embarrassing” the country with their conduct, Goyal told reporters that opposition members brought placards and willfully disrupted parliamentary proceedings despite the decision taken earlier that placards would not be allowed in the Houses. (ANI)
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