'Is it a crime to ask HM to make a statement in the house?' Kharge on suspension of 15 MPs

Opposition leaders on Thursday slammed the Centre over the suspension of 15 MPs from Parliament until the end of the winter session on 22 December, and for taking no action against the BJP MP who authorised the entry into Parliament of the two men who caused Wednesday's Lok Sabha security breach.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal has termed it the murder of democracy. “The BJP government has reduced Parliament to a rubber stamp. Not even the pretense of a democratic process is left,” said Venugopal in a post on X.

Also posting on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked, "Is it a crime to urge the Union Home Minister to make a statement in the House? Is it a crime to want a discussion on the perilous security breach? Does it not invoke draconian shades of dictatorship, a hallmark of the present dispensation?"

Venugopal called it "a horrible, undemocratic move" to suspend Opposition MPs for demanding an answer from the government on the security breach in Parliament on Wednesday. “On the one hand, MPs are suspended for demanding accountability, while on the other hand, there is no action against the BJP MP who facilitated the entry of the miscreants,” wrote Venugopal.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen strongly criticised the government over the suspension, and said fellow TMC MP Derek O’Brien — the only Rajya Sabha member among those suspended — was within his rights when he went to the well of the house demanding a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah over the Lok Sabha security breach.

“This is about national security, it is our duty as the Opposition to raise the issue. If the home minister would have made a statement in the house, this situation would not have arisen. It is our right as the Opposition to raise the issue, so we went to the well and raised slogans. If they want to suspend us for that they can do it… ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’,” said Sen, adding that O’Brien only wanted to raise the issue of the security breach, but the government does not want to discuss the issue.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said the Rajya Sabha chairman should reconsider his decision. “If MPs don’t raise their voice, what is the point? Two people, who came through a BJP MP, breached the security of the temple of democracy. Whether it was smoke bomb or colour bomb… a bomb reached the house,” said Tiwari.

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam said the suspension is “unwarranted, undemocratic and politically motivated", adding, “A failed government which has no regard for the Parliament is now trying to scuffle the Parliamentary proceedings in its own way. We will take it to the people’s court.”

“There was a warning that this attack may happen. What precaution did the government take? Why did the BJP MP issue the pass? What action have they taken against the BJP MP? The BJP MP is safeguarded and the MP who questioned his activities has been suspended. We stand united with the suspended TMC MP,” said Viswam. “The home minister who is responsible for nation’s security should make a statement. Why did the home minister refuse to come to Parliament?”

P Santosh Kumar of the CPI said they will not “accept” the suspension. “We are not going to accept the suspension. It is contrary to the principles of democracy and is a sign of autocracy. The MP who is the culprit behind giving the passes is still in the Lok Sabha, so far no disciplinary action has been taken. Whereas the one who protests is suspended. This is the irony,” he said.