 "Why have 15 Opposition MPs been suspended from Parliament?")
Fifteen MPs were suspended from the Parliament on Thursday amid chaos. This comes the day after Parliament witnessed a serious breach with two people jumping into the chamber and two more protesting outside. At least six people are involved in the incident which came on the anniversary of the Parliament attack. But who are the 15 suspended MPs? Why were they suspended? What are the rules of suspension? What has the reaction been? Let’s take a closer look: Who are the MPs? Why did this happen? As per Indian Express, the TMC’s Derek O’ Brien was the first MP to be suspended. TN Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, S Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and Hibi Eden, Congress leaders Manickam Tagore, Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan and Mohammad Jawed, CPM MPs PR Natarajan, S Venkatesan, DMK MPs Kanimozhi and SR Parthiban and CPI leader K Subbarayan were also suspended.
As per India Today, the MPs were suspended for ‘unruly conduct.’
Sources told India Today that DMK MPs have alleged that Parthiban was suspended despite not even being present in the House. Parliament was adjourned several times on Thursday after Opposition MPs created a ruckus while demanding that home minister Amit Shah speak on the security breach. This, even as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reiterated that security of the Parliament complex is the responsibility of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. In the House, a motion suspending O’Brien from the House for the remainder of the Winter Session was moved in the Upper House on Thursday morning. Before their suspension, the MPs moved into the Well of the House raising slogans with demand of a statement from the government on the Wednesday security breach. O’ Brien too moved into the area in front of the chair and flung his arms in the air. This infuriated Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who named O’Brien and asked him to leave the House. A person named by the chair has to withdraw himself from the proceedings for the day.
Dhankhar described O’Brien’s conduct as “defiance” of the chair and “serious misconduct”.
This led to further protests by the Opposition members and the TMC leader did not leave the House. Amid the protests, the House was adjourned till noon. Soon after the House met at noon, Dhankhar again warned O’Brien against disrupting the proceedings. Once again he asked the TMC leader to leave the House as the opposition MPs continued with their protest. The chairman then allowed Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to move a motion to suspend O’Brien under Rule 256. The motion to suspend O’Brien for the remainder of the session was adopted by a voice vote and the chairman announced that the TMC MP stands suspended from the House. This led to more protests and another adjournment, this time till 2 pm. [caption id=“attachment_13503212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard inside the premises of the Indian parliament in New Delhi, 13 December. AP[/caption] After several more adjournments, when the House met at 4 pm, the chair again asked O’Brien to “immediately leave the precincts” of the Rajya Sabha. As the TMC leader did not relent, Dhankhar said O’Brien’s refusal to comply with the decision of the House and the direction imparted is a sever violation of the rules of procedure and “amounts to wilful contempt of the House”. Goyal moved a motion to refer the matter relating to O’Brien’s conduct to the Committee of Privileges as it was a “serious contempt of the House” and breach of privilege. The House approved the motion by a voice vote. The chair again asked O’Brien to leave the House, but the latter refused to oblige. Meanwhile, Pralhad Joshi read a statement on behalf of the government and said the internal security in Parliament comes under the purview of the Speaker. He then moved a resolution amid the din to suspend five MPs. “I move the following that this House having taken misconduct of T N Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and Dean Kuriakose in utter disregard to the House and the authority of this Chair and having been named by the chair … to be suspended from the service of the House for reminder session,” the resolution read. The House was then adjourned till 3 pm. As soon as the House met at 3 pm, Joshi moved a second resolution to suspend VK Sreekandan (Cong), Benny Behanan (Cong), Mohammad Jawed (Cong), PR Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K Subbarayan (CPI), SR Parthiban (DMK), S Venkatesan (CPI-M), and Manickam Tagore (Cong). Some of the suspended members continued to protest in the House even after the adjournment. A few of them came out after some time. The rules of suspension Members can be suspended from both Houses of Parliament for wilfully causing a ruckus or obstructing business. In Lok Sabha In the Lok Sabha, the decision to suspend MPs resides with the Speaker. As per Deccan Chronicle, the Speaker is granted this power under Rule 375 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha to act if there is a ‘grave disorder’ arising in the House. Rule 374A states that in case a member comes into the well of the House or refuses to adhere to the rules and wilfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans or otherwise, such a member will be named by the Speaker and “will stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the Session, whichever is less”. In Rajya Sabha However, in the Rajya Sabha it’s a different ballgame.
The Rajya Sabha chairman does not have the power to unilaterally suspend a member.
The Chairman may name a member “name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing” the House. As per Indian Express, Rule Number 255 gives the Rajya Sabha chairman “direct any Member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately” from the House. “…Any Member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting.” The Chairman may “name a Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing” business. After this, the House may adopt a motion suspending the member from the House for not more than the remainder of the session, as per Deccan Chronicle. The House may withdraw the suspension through another motion. The rulebook empowers the Chairman to enforce his decisions, as per the report. What’s the reaction been? The Congress called the suspension a “murder of democracy” and claimed that the BJP government has reduced Parliament to a “rubber stamp”.
The Congress’ KC Venugopal called it a “horrible, undemocratic move”.
“A horrible, undemocratic move to suspend opposition MPs for demanding an answer from the government on the shocking security breach in parliament yesterday. On the one hand, five MPs are suspended for demanding accountability, while on the other, there is no action against the BJP MP who facilitated the entry of the miscreants. This is a murder of democracy. The BJP government has reduced parliament to a rubber stamp. Not even the pretence of a democratic process is left,” he wrote on X. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also slammed the government over the issue, saying it is trying to distract from the main issue of security breach. “Democracy is being ruthlessly sacrificed,” Chowdhury told reporters. Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, posted on X:
Having endangered National Security and the safety of the temple of our Democracy — the Parliament, the BJP is now shooting the messenger.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 14, 2023
The suspension of 15 opposition MPs from the Parliament because they wanted a discussion on the grave security breach is SUSPENSION OF…
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More ShortsCongress MP Karti Chidambaram said, “There is comedy in this suspension, S R Parthiban has been named in the list, he wasn’t even in the LS today. I guess they can’t make out one Tamilan from another.” Meanwhile, O’Brien on Thursday held a silent protest in the Parliament complex after His suspension. O’Brien walked out of the Parliament building with a placard hanging around his neck which read “Silent Protest”. He refused to speak on the issue.
Congress MP Abdul Khaleque demanded Amit Shah’s resignation.
“They didn’t suspend the one who should they have, pass was issued by a BJP MP. We demanded that it should be condemned and the Home Minister should answer in the House, he should take moral responsibility. They won’t be able to stifle the Opposition’s voice by suspending them. Today’s government is a failure," he told ANI. The Centre has asked the Opposition not to “politicise” the “grave national issue”. The Winter Session of Parliament, which started on 4 December, will conclude on 22 December. With inputs from agencies
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