Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday explained why the Lok Sabha Speaker had to suspend several opposition members of parliament for the remainder of the Winter Session. He also informed the press that 13 MPs were suspended, not 14.
It was reported that 14 MPs were suspended by the Lok Sabha speaker after they protested demanding a statement by union minister Amit Shah on the security scare. However, the suspension of one MP was later revoked as he was not present during the commotion and it was a case of mistaken identity, the minister added.
Joshi said the MPs had been suspended for bridging placards inside the Parliament.
“After moving to the new Parliament building, a BAC (Business Advisory Committee) meeting was held and the Speaker proposed that placards will not be allowed, which was unanimously accepted. The decision of the Speaker was violated, following which 13 MPs have been suspended,” he said, per PTI.
“One MP who was not here was also suspended. Later, it came to my notice that it was a case of mistaken identity and we have dropped that (name),” he added.
It was reported that MPs Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan, Mohammad Jawed, PR Natarajan, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, K Subbarayan, SR Parthiban, S Venkatesan, Manickam Tagore, Dean Kuriakose, Hibi Eden, TN. Prathapan, Jothimani Sennimalai, and Ramya Haridas were suspended for the remainder of the session for “unruly” behaviour. In the Rajya Sabha, TMC MP Derek O Brien was suspended over similar charges.
The Opposition has attacked the government over the suspension.
In a post on X, DMK chief MK Stalin said: “Suspension of 15 Opposition MPs, including DMK MP Kanimozhi is undemocratic and undermines the spirit of Parliamentary democracy. The intolerant attitude of the BJP-led Union Govt is condemnable. Is crushing MPs’ freedom of expression the new norm in our Parliament?”
TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said: “After what happened yesterday, the INDIA alliance wanted the Union Home Minister to come to the Parliament, give a statement & then a discussion should happen…The government has given no statement…This only proves that the security arrangements in the new Parliament are not good.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh called the government “dictatorial”.
Two men jumped inside the chamber of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and created ruckus with smoke canisters before being overpowered by MPs. They and two others have been arrested by the Delhi Police. They were sent to a 7-day remand today.
