49 more Lok Sabha Opposition MPs suspended today, action against 141 so far

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Dec 19, 2023: The Opposition INDIA bloc’s strength in the Lok Sabha dwindled further on Tuesday as 49 MPs were suspended for unruly behaviour and disregarding the directions of the Chair. This follows the suspension of an unprecedented 78 MPs from both Houses of Parliament a day before.

 

Suspended MPs include Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari and Karti Chidambaram, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party’s Dimple Yadav, NCP’s Farooq Abdullah, DMK’s S Senthilkumar, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sushil Kumar Rinku, and Sudip Bandhopadhyay from the Trinamool Congress. The motion to suspend the MPs was brought by Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in the Lower House, "It was decided not to bring placards inside the House. Due to desperation after losing recent elections, they are taking such steps. This is the reason we are bringing a proposal (to suspend MPs)."

With this, the total number of MPs suspended from Parliament stands at 141. On Monday, 46 Opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha, and 45 MPs from the Rajya Sabha.

As the action against Opposition lawmakers continued for a second day, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and asked him to address the matter of the suspension of MPs in the interest of Parliamentary processes. Pawar said some MPs who weren’t present in the Well of the House or involved in causing disruption were suspended.

The record suspensions follow a series of disruptions and unruly behaviour witnessed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha amid the ongoing Winter Session. The government has justified these punitive measures as necessary to maintain order and ensure the smooth functioning of legislative proceedings.

Opposition leaders have strongly criticised the mass suspensions, accusing the ruling BJP of "murdering democracy" by suppressing dissent and stifling parliamentary discourse.

"The Opposition is being completely decimated 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 let off. All kinds of atrocities of ’NaMocracy’ are coming to light in new Parliament," said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal claimed that the action was necessary as the Opposition MPs insulted the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman. Accusing the Congress and its allies of "embarrassing" the country with their conduct, Goyal said that opposition members brought placards and wilfully disrupted parliamentary proceedings.

Courtesy: India Today