Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has suspended three additional Opposition MPs, bringing the total number of suspensions to 146. The move follows a protest led by the INDIA bloc, marching from Parliament to Vijay Chowk against the government.
The suspended MPs, DK Suresh, Nakul Nath, and Deepak Baij, all belong to the Congress party. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla cited “unruly behavior” as the reason for their suspension.
During the protest, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating parliamentary privilege by not addressing the security breach issue inside the Parliament. The protest, marked by a ‘Save Democracy’ banner and placards expressing discontent, aimed to draw attention to the suspension of Opposition MPs.
Reacting to the suspensions and the passage of significant bills in the absence of the Opposition, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram criticized the government, stating, “It’s like batting in a cricket match without any fielders. They are bringing very far-reaching laws which will have a grave impact on the daily life of this country, but they don’t want any discussion, debate or dissent about it.”
Kharge, addressing the media after the march, emphasized the need to discuss the Parliament security breach issue within the House. He expressed disappointment that neither Home Minister Shah nor Prime Minister Modi addressed the matter inside the Parliament but spoke about it outside.
“We wanted to raise the Parliament security breach issue as to why it happened and who is responsible. Parliament is a big Panchayat. If one will not speak in Parliament where would one speak. It is unfortunate that Home Minister Shah and Prime Minister Modi did not come to the House to apprise about the security breach,” Kharge said.
Kharge further accused PM Modi of disrespecting the Parliament by speaking about the issue outside rather than within the House, labeling it a violation of privilege.
In response, BJP MP SP Singh Baghel criticized the Opposition for supporting TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the row triggered by Banerjee’s mimicry of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
“INDIA Alliance is working with the principle of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. The suspended members should look into their actions; it was the Parliament session and not the set of a comedy show,” Baghel remarked.
For more updates stay tuned to FELA news!
