India’s parliament has become a battleground of heated protests as an additional 49 opposition MPs were suspended, bringing the total number of barred lawmakers to 141.
These MPs were protesting against a security breach that occurred in parliament last week.
The opposition, on Monday, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of undermining democracy when a record-breaking 78 MPs were suspended in a single day.
The majority of these lawmakers have been barred for the remainder of the winter session, which concludes on Friday.
However, approximately two dozen of them may face a longer suspension, depending on the decision of the parliament’s privileges committee.
Most of the suspended MPs belong to the INDIA alliance, a coalition of opposition parties aiming to challenge Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general election next year.
The alliance currently holds 142 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. Out of these, 95 have now been suspended. In the 250-member upper house or Rajya Sabha (with a few vacant seats), the alliance has 101 MPs, of which 46 have been suspended.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed his disappointment on Tuesday, stating, “Unfortunately, we have to begin writing obituaries for parliamentary democracy in India,” following his own suspension.
The ruling BJP has accused opposition leaders of intentionally disrupting parliamentary proceedings.
These recent developments are expected to further strain the already frosty relations between the opposition and Mr. Modi’s government.
Several opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) had been demanding a statement in parliament from either federal Home Minister Amit Shah or Mr. Modi regarding the recent security breach. Last week, two individuals entered parliament, set off colored gas, and shouted slogans, while two others protested outside. In relation to this incident, six people have been arrested, with the four protesters being charged under a stringent anti-terror law.
While the police have not officially disclosed a motive, media reports and the families of the accused have stated that the protesters were unemployed and wanted to express their frustration with the government’s policies. It is important to note that this breach occurred on the 22nd anniversary of a deadly militant attack on the parliament.
Opposition MPs have also requested a discussion in parliament regarding this security lapse. Although Mr. Modi did not address the issue in parliament, he did mention in an interview with a Hindi newspaper that the incident was “very serious.” He emphasized the need for a detailed investigation rather than a debate.
Similarly, Mr. Shah has not spoken in parliament but mentioned during an event that a high-level inquiry had been initiated into the incident. He also accused the opposition of politicizing the security breach.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the opposition Congress party, criticized the government’s lack of accountability to parliament, which represents the people of India. He pointed out that while the Prime Minister and Home Minister give interviews to the media, they evade accountability in parliament. However, Mr. Kharge, a member of the Rajya Sabha, has not been suspended yet.
Manoj Kumar Jha, an MP from the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal, considered his suspension as a “badge of honor.” He believes that the government is attempting to suppress the questions raised by the opposition. Some opposition MPs, including Mr. Kharge, have alleged that the government deliberately suspends opposition leaders to pass important bills without proper debate.
However, Piyush Goyal, the federal minister who proposed a motion to suspend 34 MPs in the upper house on Monday, labeled the opposition’s protest as a “premeditated tactic” aimed at obstructing the parliament’s operations and impeding crucial bills.
Furthermore, he alleged that the opposition MPs showed disrespect towards the parliament and undermined the authority of the Lok Sabha speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman by disregarding their appeals to refrain from bringing protest signs into the well of the house.