Parliament of India suspends a record 92 Opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

A total of 78 Opposition MPs -- 33 from the Lok Sabha and 45 from the Rajya Sabha -- were suspended on Monday for disrupting the proceedings of Parliament. This takes the total number of MPs suspended to 92. Last week, 13 opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha and one was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for disrupting the proceedings. The Lok Sabha suspended 33 opposition members, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, T R Baalu and Sougata Ray, from the House for displaying placards and raising slogans over the Parliament's security breach issue.

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 day witnessed several adjournments, with Opposition leaders advocating for a government statement on the security breach. The breach involved two individuals jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery. In the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs voiced their demands with chants of 'BJP jawaab do, sadan se bhaagna band karo' (BJP, give us answers, stop running away from Parliament). Similar scenes unfolded in the Rajya Sabha, leading to swift adjournments. Enquiries against these three MPs will be undertaken by the Committee of Privileges. However, they remain suspended till the report is submitted. The names of the three MPs are, Jayakumar, Abdul Khaleque and Vasanth.On the suspension of 33 Opposition MPs for the remainder of the Winter Session today, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Such tyranny won't work. It is not acceptable to the country. They received this mandate on the trust of the people. They received the mandate because they had considered national security an important issue. But the most secure building is being attacked today. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister speaks on it. If we demand your statement, you suspended us from the House - this is not acceptable to anyone. We will continue to fight for this...If we are being suspended because we are demanding (statement), then this is a badge of honour for us."On his suspension from the Lok Sabha, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "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."