A Momentary Lapse Of Session: 141 MPs Suspended; Opposition Reacts; Government Unfazed

The numbers keep piling up as 49 opposition MPs were suspended on Tuesday in what has been a week of absolute mayhem at the Parliament. This comes in addition to the record 78 MPs suspended in a single day on Monday, bringing the total tally to 141. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariat's decision to expel the opposition lawmakers of the land has taken the world by storm and has been unequivocally termed as a direct absolute 'anarchy' and a direct attack on democracy by opposition leaders.

The numbers and the rule

The Winter session of the Parliament commenced on December 4 and saw a spate of expulsions - 14 on Thursday, a record 78 suspensions on Monday and 49 on Tuesday, bringing the total to a record in India's history. Among them, 46 MPs hail from the Rajya Sabha and 95 from the lower house.

Under Rule 374 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, the Lok Sabha speaker can name an MP who “disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules” following which, the House can move a motion to suspend them. The chairman of Rajya Sabha has the same powers as the Speaker under Rule 256.

What are the reasons?

Almost two-thirds of the MPs suspended from both Houses are from the opposition INDIA bloc. This comes in retaliation to the opposition MPs demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the security breach that took place with intruders breaking into the lower house with gas canisters, last Wednesday. Opposition MPs took to the house with placards while three Congress MPs climbed on to the Speaker's podium demanding a statement from the Prime Minister and the Home Minster. Om Birla's clarification of a special probe investigating the security breach and refusal to let this issue snowball into a Parliamentary debate was met with furious resistance from the opposition MPs. 

Speaking about how the opposition MPs soiled the decorum and disrespected the Chair, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday, "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)."

Has it happened in the past?

Although, the tally sheds a negative light on the Indian parliamentary strcuture and casts a global negative impact, the history of suspension from the Parliament dates to the 1960s, the first instances being independent Rajya Sabha MP Godey Murahari and fellow MP Raj Narain being physically hauled out of the house owing to misbehaviour. The current chain of expulsions also brought into dialogue, the mass suspension of 63 Lok Sabha members in 1989, owing to a rumpus over the tabling of the Justice Thakkar Committee Report on the assassination of Indira Gandhi. 2015 also saw 25 MPs expelled from the Parliament owing to unparliamentary behaviour. The government in power being pressurized into addressing a raging issue and the government's strategic deflection has been something commonly recorded in the country's Parliamentary history. However, this marks a historic week with an unprecedented number of expulsions recorded. 

What the Opposition has to say

The Congress-led opposition have expressed their sharp criticism of the wholesale suspension of MPs from the winter session of the Parliament, slamming the Government for being 'autocratic'. The party believes that the Modi-led BJP Government is trying to "bulldoze" important legislations without any constructive debate or dissent. Leaders of the INDIA bloc took to social media to lash out at the BJP's "draconian measures" which, according to them, are dictatorially aimed at suffocating democracy.

Rajya Sabha MP and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took to X, formerly Twitter, to word out his concerns-" The suspension of a total of 141 Opposition MPs from Parliament reinforces our charge that an autocratic BJP wants to demolish Democracy in this country."  He further added, "...Therefore, they have adopted this "Suspend, Throw Out and Bulldoze" tactic to destroy democracy! Our simple demands about the Union Home Minister making a statement in Parliament on the grave security breach and a detailed discussion on the same, remain unaltered." He added that first, intruders attacked the Parliament with the Modi govt following suit in attacking the parliament and the democracy.

At the Congress Parliamentary Party Meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "Never before have so many Opposition Members of Parliament been suspended from the house, and that too, simply for raising a perfectly reasonable and legitimate demand." She expressed her concerns regarding the government's attempt to strangulate democracy with these measures.

Shashi Tharoor who had perhaps anticipated his suspension, posted on X about carrying a placard, in solidarity with his Congress colleagues, to the House for the first time in his fifteen-year Parliamentary career. Following his suspension, Tharoor speaking outside Parliament on Tuesday, said,  “It is clear that the BJP wants an 'Opposition-Mukt' Lok Sabha, and they will do something similar in the Rajya Sabha. Unfortunately, we have to start writing obituaries for parliamentary democracy in India.”

Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan speaking to reporters outside the Parliament expressed, "What I don't understand is that in Sansad TV, our Chairman is shown, and if there is any other BJP leader, he will be shown or sometimes a woman but no matter what, the opposition is never shown. This is not democracy; this is a mockery of democracy."

What happens now?

After passing The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, The Central GST Amendment Bill, and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill and debating three others on Tuesday in an opposition-less deliberation, the House reconvenes for business with the government overwhelmingly satisfying the 10% quorum requirement. The criminal law amendment bills that are being brought around to replace the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and the Indian Evidence Act will be taken up in the house today, in addition to the Telecommunications Bill, 2023.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has also issued a circular which prohibits the suspended MPs from entering the Parliament chamber, lobby, and galleries. They would also not be entitled to the daily allowance for the duration of their suspension.