Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, T R Baalu among 34 'unruly' Opposition members suspended from Lok Sabha

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK MPs T R Baalu and Dayanidhi Maran, and TMC’s Saugata Roy were among the 34 opposition members suspended for disrupting the proceedings of the lower house of Parliament on Monday.

While 31 were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.

The three – K Jayakumar, Vijay Vasanth and Abdul Khaleque – had climbed on the Speaker’s podium to raise slogans.

After the development, Congress president and LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of attacking Parliament and democracy.

Congress president and LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge tweets, “First, intruders attacked Parliament. Then Modi Govt attacking Parliament & Democracy. All Democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin by an autocratic Modi Govt by suspending 47 MPs…With an… pic.twitter.com/RAbQptPl5S

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2023

“First, intruders attacked Parliament. Then Modi Govt attacking Parliament & Democracy. All Democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin by an autocratic Modi Govt by suspending 47 MPs…With an Opposition-Less Parliament, the Modi Govt can now bulldoze important pending legislations, crush any dissent, without any debate,” he wrote on X.

After being named by the Chair, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion regarding the suspension of the opposition members and it was adopted by a voice vote.

The House was then adjourned for the day.

Speaking to reporters after his suspension, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Congress has been demanding that the Home Minister Amit Shah come to the House and give a statement on the Parliament breach issue.

#WATCH | On his suspension from the Lok Sabha, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “All leaders, including me, have been suspended. We have been demanding for days to reinstate our MPs who were suspended earlier and that the Home Minister come to the… pic.twitter.com/y19hCUY7iG

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2023

“All leaders, including me, have been suspended. We have been demanding for days to reinstate our MPs who were suspended earlier and that the Home Minister come to the House and give a statement. He gives statements to the TV every day and he can speak a little in the Parliament too regarding what is being done by the Government for the security of the Parliament…Today’s Government has reached the heights of tyranny…We wanted discussion…,” said Chowdhury.

The fresh round of suspension comes after 13 Opposition MPs faced the action last week for demanding a statement by the Home Minister. This means that a total of 46 MPs have been suspended, 43 of them for seeking the Home Minister’s statement on the security breach.

Opposition members have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah over the breach of Parliament’s security on 13 December.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in post on ‘X’ earlier in the day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken on the issue outside the Parliament when the winter session is underway.

“The Prime Minister speaks to a leading newspaper on the very serious December 13th security breach in the Lok Sabha. The Home Minister speaks to a TV channel on the security breach. Parliament is in session. INDIA parties are demanding a statement from the Home Minister in both Houses on the shocking incidents. It is a simple, straightforward and legitimate demand. But Home Minister refuses to make a statement which is his duty and responsibility. This is why Parliament is getting adjourned repeatedly,” Jairam Ramesh said.

Rajya Sabha has also witnessed repeated adjournments on the issue.

With inputs from agencies