A total of 33 Opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Monday for disrupting Parliament proceedings, following the passage of a motion moved by Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi. The suspended members were named by the Lok Sabha Speaker before the motion was moved by the minister.
While 30 MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee. The total number of suspended MPs in Lok Sabha now stands at 46, with the suspension of TMC MP Derek O’Brien in Rajya Sabha.
Among those suspended were Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK MPs T R Baalu and Dayanidhi Maran, and TMC’s Saugata Roy for disrupting proceedings. While 31 were suspended for the Winter Session’s remainder, three MPs — K Jayakumar, Vijay Vasanth, and Abdul Khaleque — await the Privileges Committee’s report due to their protest actions on the Speaker’s podium.
Winter Session | A total of 33 Opposition MPs, including Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, suspended from the Parliament today for the remainder of the Session. pic.twitter.com/zbUpeMaHmU
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2023
The motion for suspension moved by the Parliamentary Affairs minister was adopted via a voice vote. The House was adjourned for the day following the suspension.
Also Read:14 Opposition MPs suspended from Parliament amid uproar over Lok Sabha security breach
This action followed Opposition members’ protests demanding a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah concerning the security breach on December 13.
Notably, earlier on December 14, a day after the major Parliament security breach, as many as 14 Members of Parliament, including one from the Rajya Sabha and 13 from the Lok Sabha, were suspended for the remainder of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament for disrupting House proceedings
Also Read:TMC’s Derek O’Brien suspended over ‘gross misconduct’ for remaining Winter Session
MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP were suspended for “unruly conduct” in Parliament. Manickam Tagore, Kanimozhi, PR Natrajan, VK Sreekandan, Benny Bahanan, K Subramanyam, S Venkatesan, and Mohammad Jawed are among the Parliament members who were suspended from the Lok Sabha. Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien is the lone MP suspended from the Rajya Sabha.
On Sunday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appealed to Speaker Om Birla to reconsider the suspension of the 13 MPs, mentioning their pressing demand for a government statement on troubling issues. He urged a holistic re-evaluation of the matter to restore order in the House.
Also Read:‘Seriousness of Dec 13 incident shouldn’t be downplayed, no need for debate’: PM Modi on Parliament security breach
“Considering the fact that the Members who have been suspended on account of “unruly conduct” were pressing for an explanation from the Government on very troubling issues, to me, it appears to be appropriate to hear them on their concerns and points of view. Considering the factors that led to the suspension of 13 members in recent days, I would urge that the matter be re-looked into holistically and appropriate action taken to revoke the suspension and restore order in the House”, stated Chowdhury in his letter to Speaker Birla.
Earlier on Saturday, Speaker Om Birla clarified in a letter to all MPs that the suspension of members was unrelated to the security breach incident on December 13. The intention behind the suspensions was solely to maintain the House’s dignity.
“This is unwarranted. There is no association between the suspension of honourable members and the incident which took place on December 13, 2023. The suspension of honourable members is purely to uphold the sanctity of the house”, the letter read.
The breach coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack when two individuals—Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D—leapt into the Lok Sabha from the visitor’s gallery, releasing yellow gas canisters and shouting anti-establishment slogans during Zero Hour. They were later overpowered by MPs.