Why 141 India opposition MPs suspended from parliament?
Al Jazeera
More than 100 MPs have been suspended from parliament in move the the opposition calls ‘a complete purge’.
Forty-nine Indian opposition lawmakers, who have been demanding a debate on a December 13 parliament security breach, were suspended from the legislature on Tuesday for allegedly disrupting House proceedings.
Tuesday’s government action came a day after 78 opposition members of parliament were suspended from the remainder of the crucial Winter Session of the parliament. In total 141 lawmakers – 95 from the lower house (Lok Sabha) and 46 from the upper chamber (Rajya Sabha) – have been suspended since December 14.
The opposition has dubbed the government move a “mockery of democracy”, as important legislation will be passed without any debate undermining parliamentary democracy.
The opposition has been demanding a debate on the security breach on December 13, when two men had jumped into the chamber of the lower house from the visitors’ gallery and opened gas canisters. Their visitor’s pass was provided by a legislator from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“A complete purge is being executed so that draconian Bills are passed without any meaningful debate, and so that the BJP MP who facilitated the entry of the two intruders into the Lok Sabha on December 13th goes scot-free,” Congress Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
