Record breaking suspension of 143 MPs: Which States and parties affected most | Data

The ongoing winter session of Parliament witnessed a historic suspension of 143 Members of Parliament (MPs), with 97 from the Lok Sabha and 46 from the Rajya Sabha. The suspension, triggered by the Opposition’s demand for a statement on a security breach, drew criticism from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who accused the government of attacking democracy. The record-breaking number surpassed the previous high of 63 suspensions during the Eighth Lok Sabha in 1989. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal were most affected, with 29, 16, and 14 MPs suspended, respectively. The Congress party saw the highest number of suspensions, with 38 MPs affected. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were also left without representation in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha saw 18 Congress MPs, 8 AITC MPs, and 5 DMK MPs suspended, with West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu most impacted. Chart 1 illustrates the session-wise suspension of members in the last four Lok Sabhas, revealing a total of 189 suspensions during NDA-I and II, compared to 50 in UPA-I and II. Chart 2 indicates a significant increase in Rajya Sabha suspensions under NDA-I and II, with 94 members suspended, compared to seven during UPA-I and II.

Ninety-seven MPs from the Lok Sabha and 46 MPs from the Rajya Sabha have been suspended during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. This is the highest number of MPs suspended in a single session in the history of Parliament. The record number was due to the Opposition’s demand for a statement from the Home Minister over the security breach in Parliament. Commenting on the suspensions, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of attacking Parliament and democracy.

The highest number of MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha was previously 63 (during the Eighth Lok Sabha, on March 15, 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister). According to The Hindu archives, the entire Opposition was suspended due to its demand that the government discuss the Thakkar Commission report on the assassination of Indira Gandhi. That evening, Janata Dal leader V.P. Singh spoke to the media and accused the government of acting in a “brazen” fashion.

Twenty-nine MPs from Tamil Nadu were suspended, the highest number across all States, which left just 10 MPs to represent the people of the State in the Lok Sabha for the remaining days of the session (Table 1). Sixteen MPs from Kerala were suspended, leaving just four MPs, and 14 from West Bengal were suspended, leaving just 27 MPs. A lone MP from Puducherry was also on the suspension list, which leaves the Union Territory without any representation. This is the case with Lakshadweep, too.

Table 1 shows the States represented by the suspended Lok Sabha MPs.

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Thirty-eight MPs from the Congress were suspended, the highest number across all parties, which leaves just 10 Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha (Table 2). Sixteen MPs from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and 13 from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) were suspended, leaving eight and nine MPs from each party in the Lok Sabha, respectively. All three MPs belonging to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) were suspended. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Kerala Congress (M) (KC(M)) were also left without an MP in the Lok Sabha as their lone MPs were suspended.

Table 2 shows the parties represented by the suspended Lok Sabha MPs.