'Suspend, throw out and bulldoze democracy': Opposition after 49 more Lok Sabha MPs suspended today; 141 suspensions so far

Forty-nine more Lok Sabha MPs were suspended from the House for disrupting proceedings on Tuesday, a day after 78 opposition members were suspended from Parliament. Slamming the government, the Congress says a "complete purge" is being executed to ensure the passage of "draconian bills" without any meaningful debate in the new Parliament.

New Delhi: As many as 49 Lok Sabha MPs were suspended from the House for disrupting proceedings on Tuesday, a day after 78 opposition members were suspended from Parliament. With this, 141 opposition MPs have been suspended so far in this Parliament session.

The MPs suspended on Tuesday include National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari and Karti Chidambaram and Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav. Among the other MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha included Supriya Sule of the NCP, S Jagathrakshakan and DNV Senthil Kumar of the DMK, Giridhari Yadav of the JD(U), Danish Ali who has been suspended from the BSP and Sushil Kumar Rinku of the AAP.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, while moving a motion for the suspension of the MPs, accused the protesting members of being "frustrated" over the recent assembly election results. "INDIA bloc MPs have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament on December 13. They had agreed not to bring placards. They are frustrated with their loss, so taking such steps. These people will not come back in the House next time if this behaviour continues," Joshi said.

"They are insulting the chair and the people of India by bringing placards," he said. As protests continued, the House was adjourned till 2 pm. Tuesday's suspensions come a day after 78 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament on Monday, the highest number of suspensions in a single day, drawing sharp criticism from the Congress and other parties that accused the BJP government of trying to bulldoze key legislations in an "Opposition-less" Parliament.

INDIA bloc MPs have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament on December 13. The action taken on Tuesday has brought the total number of suspended opposition MPs from both houses to 141 since last Thursday. AAP member Sanjay Singh has been suspended as a Rajya Sabha member since July 24.

'Namocracy' in all its tyranny coming to light: Congress

A "complete purge" is being executed to ensure the passage of "draconian bills" without any meaningful debate in the new Parliament, the Congress claimed on Tuesday, dubbing it as "'Namocracy' in all its tyranny".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said this was being done so that the BJP MP "who facilitated the entry of the two intruders" into the Lok Sabha on December 13 goes scot-free. The opposition party's attack came soon after 49 Lok Sabha MPs were suspended from the House for disrupting proceedings.

Ramesh underlined the suspension of the Lok Sabha MPs on Tuesday to allege that "a complete purge is being executed so that draconian bills are passed without any meaningful debate, and so that the BJP MP who facilitated entry of the two intruders into the Lok Sabha on December 13th goes scot-free".

"Today at least 50 more INDIA MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha alone! A complete purge is being executed so that draconian Bills are passed without any meaningful debate, and so that the BJP MP who facilitated entry of the two intruders into the Lok Sabha on December 13th goes scot-free," Ramesh said in a post on 'X'. 'Namocracy' in all its tyranny is coming to light in the new Parliament, he said in Hindi.

Congress chief Mallikarujun Kharge said the suspensions "reinforces" their charge that BJP wanted to "demolish democracy". "The suspension of a total of 141 Opposition MPs from Parliament reinforces our charge that an autocratic BJP wants to demolish Democracy in this country. We all know that key Bills like the Criminal Law Amendments, which unleash draconian powers and impede citizen's Rights, are listed. Modi Govt does not want the people of India to hear out the Opposition, while these Bills are debated and deliberated. Therefore, they have adopted this "Suspend, Throw Out and Bulldoze" tactic to destroy Democracy ! Our simple demands about the Union Home Minister making a statement in Parliament on the grave security breach and a detailed discussion on the same, remain unaltered," Kharge posted on X.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the suspension was a "badge of honour". "For the first time in my parliamentary career of nearly 15 years, I too entered the well of the House holding a placard calling for a discussion on the recent security breach. I did so out of solidarity with my @INCIndia colleagues, who have been unjustly suspended for demanding accountability from the government. I expect suspension to follow. It is a badge of honour to be defenestrated by an unfair process," Tharoor said in a post on X.