20 December 2023 09:28 am Views - 68
India’s parliament has temporarily suspended a record 141 members from both its chambers in the past week, with the country’s opposition decrying the move as a fresh blow to democratic norms. The Indian National Congress, the largest opposition party, says its members were suspended for pressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for a statement on the recent security breach in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament.
While the government has refused to engage in a debate over the security lapse, Home Minister Amit Shah, at an event outside the parliament last week, gave assurances of strengthened security and said an investigative report will be ready within three weeks.
An additional 49 opposition lawmakers were suspended Tuesday — also for demanding an explanation from the government regarding last week’s security breach.
Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, said Monday the bulk of the opposition members were suspended for the remainder of the winter session of the parliament ending on Friday for “misconduct,” which included defying the speakers and abusing rules of the house.
The Congress Party described the suspensions as yet another autocratic move by the government. “In an opposition-less Parliament, the Modi government can now get important pending laws passed by the muscle of majority without any discussion, debate or disagreement,” said Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of Congress party, in a post on X. The suspension of parliament members is the largest in the country’s history. In 1989, 63 lawmakers of the Lok Sabha were suspended during a debate of a report on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, according to a report in the Hindustan Times newspaper.