As many as 127 opposition MPs have been suspended from the Lok Sabha over protests about the Parliament security breach issue, according to PTI, whereas at least 46 opposition MPs of the Rajya Sabha have so far been suspended for unruly behaviour and for disrupting the proceedings of the house.
On Tuesday, forty-nine Lok Sabha MPs, including NC leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram, and NCP Supriya Sule were suspended for disrupting House proceedings.
Opposition members on Tuesday held a protest at the Makar Dwar of the new Parliament building over the suspension of MPs and held mock House proceedings as well. Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress mimicked the presiding officers in an impromptu skit depicting the proceedings of the House.
Several opposition members, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, gathered to protest the suspension of the MPs since December 14, raising slogans against Home Minister Amit Shah and seeking his response on the Parliament security breach.
Many suspended Opposition members also protested near the Gandhi statue on Tuesday morning. They demanded the resignation of the prime minister and the home minister and the arrest of the BJP MP who issued entry passes to the intruders.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at opposition parties over their protests in Parliament and asserted that their conduct will ensure that their numbers go further down in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls while the BJP gains in numbers.
Opposition parties are rattled by their rout in the recent assembly polls and disrupting Parliament in frustration, the prime minister said, asking BJP members to maintain restrain and follow democratic norms.
Addressing the BJP parliamentary party, Modi also expressed concern at "attempts" to justify the Parliament security breach, saying it is as worrisome as the incident itself, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters.
Monday's record suspensions
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, including the leader of the Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK's T R Baalu and Sougata Ray of the Trinamool Congress.
They were demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Parliament security breach incident.
Monday's action took the total number of MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to 93, with 92 being suspended since Thursday (Dec 14).
13 MPs from various Opposition parties have been suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the Winter Session after being named by the Speaker for disrupting House proceedings.
34 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including Congress' Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala were suspended on Monday, for the remainder of the 'Winter Session',
AAP member Sanjay Singh has been under suspension as a Rajya Sabha member from July 24.
The suspensions, combined with the 13 members removed earlier, were the largest in the history of Indian Parliament.
The members will remain suspended till a report is submitted by the panel.
The opposition parties which are members of the INDIA bloc will hold a meeting in the national on Tuesday afternoon where the issue of suspension of their MPs will also be discussed.
The INDIA bloc has lost almost half its strength in Rajya Sabha and one-third in Lok Sabha as 78 MPs in total were suspended on Monday for unruly behaviour and disregarding the directions of the Chair.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recently blamed unemployment and price rise for the Parliament breach on December 13.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, two persons—Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D—jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.
Two others, including a woman, were detained outside the Parliament complex for staging a protest.
(With inputs from PTI & ANI)
