DM Monitoring
New Delhi: Members of the INDIA alliance held a protest march on Thursday (December 21) from Parliament to Vijay Chowk in the national capital against the suspension of opposition MPs during the winter session.
The suspensions, a total of 146 in both Houses since December 14, come after opposition MPs demanded a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the parliament security breach last week. The protest took place as another three members of the opposition were suspended in the Lok Sabha, taking the total number of suspensions in the Lok Sabha to 100.
Addressing reporters at the march, Rajya Sabha MP and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the suspensions have shown that the Modi government does not want parliament to function.
“It is our right to talk in a democracy. We are elected members and it is the duty of the Parliament members to express the sentiments of the people in the Parliament. We were doing that, but the incident that happened here in the Lok Sabha, those are the same issues. We wanted to raise [the issues] in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, on how the security breach happened, who is responsible for it, and why did it happen? You tell the House about this. If you do not speak in the House, then where will you speak?”
On Wednesday, December 13, two men jumped from the visitors’ gallery in the Lok Sabha and set off yellow smoke canisters disrupting proceedings. While the six people in connection with the protest, which was allegedly meant to highlight issues of unemployment in the country, have been arrested and charged under the draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, the BJP MP Pratap Simha, who gave them passes, is yet to face any action. Opposition members have faced suspensions since Thursday (December 14) for demanding a discussion on the Parliament breach and demanding a statement from Shah.
Kharge said that despite “repeated demands” from the opposition, neither Shah or Modi have spoken in the House.
In a veiled reference to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of vice president and Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, Kharge said that he had brought in casteism to Parliament. “I am sorry to say that the Rajya Sabha chairman has in a way brought casteism to Parliament by raising an issue,” he said.
On Wednesday, Dhankhar said that he had been insulted as a Jat and as a farmer.
“You used Twitter, the official handle of the spokesperson, to demean me, insult me, insult my background as a farmer, insult my position as a Jat, insult my position as chairman,” Dhankhar had said in the Rajya Sabha.
At the protest, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji said that while the mimicry was unfortunate, parliamentarians are meant to ask questions. “Firstly, the mimicry act was unfortunate, I condemn it. But, if the security of Parliament is breached, questions will be raised. The opposition leaders wanted an explanation from the home minister, and instead, they were suspended,” she told Press Trust of India.
