In a fierce showdown between the government and the Opposition, 142 MPs have been suspended from parliament. On December 18, 78 MPs - 33 from Lok Sabha and 45 from Rajya Sabha - were suspended. A day later, 50 more MPs were suspended, which left the Opposition benches nearly empty in the ongoing winter session of parliament. The suspended members were protesting against the parliament security breach of December 13.
As many as 142 suspended MPs are unprecedented in the history of parliament. The Opposition in both Houses has been demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the security breach, in which two men broke into Lok Sabha and set off smoke canisters and a woman and a man did the same outside parliament. A majority of the MPs have been suspended for the entire winter session, which ends this week.
The government maintained that security in the parliament complex is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha secretariat and it can only follow the Speaker's orders on the subject. Also, similar breaches have happened in the past and the Opposition is merely politicising the issue this time.
"The Speaker of the House has written a letter to Secretary Home and has instructed me to get a high-level inquiry (on security beach) done. To increase the security of the new parliament, a committee has also been constituted under the supervision of DG CRPF. On one hand, there is an investigation going on and on the other hand, the Opposition does not want the House to function... Rahul Gandhi has been saying that unemployment is the reason why all this took place. Does Rahul Gandhi support all this? What irresponsible statement is this? They (the Opposition) want to do politics in everything," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said.
However, the Opposition INDIA bloc members accuse the government of browbeating the Opposition and trying to muzzle the voice of democracy.
"There was an attack in parliament. It was an attack on the security of the members. The Opposition members are merely demanding that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister speak in parliament instead of speaking outside on it. It is a mockery of democracy. When parliament is in session, it is a breach of privilege and against parliamentary conventions to give statements outside the House," says Rajeev Gowda, a former member of Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition also feels that it is part of the government's strategy to pass crucial legislation without debate, in the same way it has underutilised the workings of standing and parliamentary committees. Important bills are pending in Lok Sabha. These include three bills to replace colonial-era criminal laws and draft legislation to set up a mechanism to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
"The government needs to reach out to the Opposition and find a solution as running the House is its responsibility. The government wants to pass bills without any scrutiny from the Opposition," added Mr Gowda.
There have been mass suspensions in the past but this is a record high. On 15 March 1989, 63 members of Lok Sabha were suspended in a row over the Justice MP Thakkar Committee report on Indira Gandhi's assassination. In 2019, then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 45 opposition MPs for disrupting House proceedings.
This week's suspensions have slashed the Opposition strength in Rajya Sabha by almost half. The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha, of which 45 are suspended. In Lok Sabha, the INDIA bloc has lost a third of its members - 46 of 133 MPs.
"This government doesn't want to hear any Opposition voice in parliament. Suspension and dismissal are used as tools to attain that objective. Parliament has never seen such blatant use of power against an elected opposition. This is unfortunate for democracy," says Nawal Kishore, RJD national spokesperson.
By suspending MPs, the government is denying people their representation in parliament during important business. The government took up bills as opposition MPs relentlessly shouted slogans. Important bills like one providing for 33 per cent quota for women in Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry Assemblies were passed within minutes on December 18 in Rajya Sabha. So was the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023.
In Lok Sabha, the government passed the Post Office Bill, 2023 in the interest of national security and also introduced the Telecommunications Bill, 2023.
"Though the suspension of MPs in such a large number is a grave issue, I think harping on one issue at the expense of other important business of the House is not responsible behaviour, considering so many important bills are to be tabled, which require serious deliberation by all members. Some restraint on the part of both the government and the opposition is called for in the interest of democracy," says Ashok Acharya Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi.
Both sides have taken extreme positions. The loss of time - intangible - and the loss of public money - tangible - is immeasurable.
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(Bharti Mishra Nath is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
Opinion: The Parliament Impasse - And The Loser Is...
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20.12.2023
In a fierce showdown between the government and the Opposition, 142 MPs have been suspended from parliament. On December 18, 78 MPs - 33 from Lok Sabha and 45 from Rajya Sabha - were suspended. A day later, 50 more MPs were suspended, which left the Opposition benches nearly empty in the ongoing winter session of parliament. The suspended members were protesting against the parliament security breach of December 13.
As many as 142 suspended MPs are unprecedented in the history of parliament. The Opposition in both Houses has been demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the security breach, in which two men broke into Lok Sabha and set off smoke canisters and a woman and a man did the same outside parliament. A majority of the MPs have been suspended for the entire winter session, which ends this week.
The government maintained that security in the parliament complex is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha secretariat and it can only follow the Speaker's orders on the subject. Also, similar breaches have happened in the past and the Opposition is merely politicising the issue this time.
"The Speaker of the House has written a letter to Secretary Home and has instructed me to get a high-level inquiry (on security beach) done. To increase the security of the new parliament, a committee has also........
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