Parliament breach: 15 opposition MPs suspended for disrupting House proceedings | India News

NEW DELHI: A total of 15 opposition MPs were suspended from the remaining period of Winter Session for disrupting House proceedings on Thursday.
Murder of democracy: Congress
The Congress termed the move as “murder of democracy” and alleged that the BJP government has reduced Parliament to a “rubber stamp”.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said: “A horrible, undemocratic move to suspend opposition MPs for demanding an answer from the government on the shocking security breach in Parliament yesterday.”
“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,” Venugopal said.
Do not politicise issue, says BJP
Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi asked the opposition not to “politicise” the “grave national issue”. “We all agree that the unfortunate incident on Wednesday was a serious one concerning the safety and security of MPs,” the minister said.

Joshi said it should be appreciated that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla promptly held a meeting with floor leaders following the incident and listened to the suggestions for further strengthening Parliament security.
“In my opinion, this matter concerns all of us and we have to speak in one voice,” Joshi said.
Joshi also said that it has become the habit of some members to politicise all issues. “I request them not to politicise the issue,” he said, adding that the Speaker and the government both are dealing with the matter sensitively.
Two resolutions for suspension moved in Lok Sabha
Fourteen opposition MPs from various parties were suspended from the Lok Sabha while Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien was suspended from the Rajya Sabha.
Amid demands from the opposition for a statement from home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the security breach in Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi moved two resolutions on separate occasions for the suspension of the Lok sabha MPs.
Prior to their suspension, the MPs had moved into the Well of the House raising slogans with demand of a statement from the government on the Wednesday security breach.

The House witnessed the first adjournment during Question Hour when it was adjourned till 2pm amid opposition’s uproar. At 2pm, Joshi read a statement on behalf of the government and said the internal security in Parliament comes under the purview of the Speaker.
He then moved a resolution amid the din to suspend five MPs.
“I move the following that this House having taken misconduct of T N Prathapan, Hibi Eden, Jothimani, Ramya Haridas and Dean Kuriakose in utter disregard to the House and the authority of this Chair and having been named by the chair … to be suspended from the service of the House for reminder session,” the resolution read.
The House was then adjourned till 3 pm.
As soon as the House met at 3pm, Joshi moved a second resolution to suspend VK Sreekandan (Congress), Benny Behanan (Congress), Mohammad Jawed (Congress), PR Natarajan (CPI-M), Kanimozhi (DMK), K Subbarayan (CPI), SR Parthiban (DMK), S Venkatesan (CPI-M), and Manickam Tagore (Congress).

The House was then adjourned till Friday.
Some of the suspended members continued to protest in the House even after the adjournment.
The Winter Session of Parliament, which started on December 4, will conclude on December 22.
Matter of O’Brien’s conduct referred to privileges panel
In the the Rajya Sabha, MP Derek O’Brien was suspended and the matter referred to the privileges committee as he did not leave the House even after repeated directions from Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. The panel has been given 3 months to submit a report.
The House witnessed disruptions throughout the day over demands from opposition members for a discussion on Parliament security breach.
O’Brien was among several opposition MPs who stormed the Well of the House. The TMP MP was named by Dhankhar and asked to leave the House. A person named by the chair has to withdraw himself from the proceedings for the day.
Dhankhar described O’Brien’s conduct as “defiance” of the chair and “serious misconduct”.
This led to further protests by the opposition members and the TMC leader did not leave the House. Amid the protests, the House was adjourned till 12 noon. Soon after the House reconvened, Dhankhar again warned O’Brien against disrupting the proceedings.
Once again he asked the TMC leader to leave the House as the opposition MPs continued with their protest.
The chairman then allowed Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to move a motion to suspend O’Brien under Rule 256.

The motion to suspend O’Brien for the remainder of the session was adopted by a voice vote and the chairman announced that the TMC MP stands suspended from the House.
This led to more protests and another adjournment, this time till 2pm.
After several more adjournments, when the House met at 4pm, the chair again asked O’Brien to “immediately leave the precincts” of the Rajya Sabha.
As the TMC leader did not relent, Dhankhar said O’Brien’s refusal to comply with the decision of the House and the direction imparted is a severe violation of the rules of procedure and “amounts to wilful contempt of the House”.
Goyal moved a motion to refer the matter relating to O’Brien’s conduct to the Committee of Privileges as it was a “serious contempt of the House” and breach of privilege.
The House approved the motion by a voice vote.

The chair again asked O’Brien to leave the House, but the latter refused to oblige.
Dhankhar then adjourned the proceedings for the day. The House will meet again on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, O’Brien held a silent protest in Parliament complex.
O’Brien walked out of the Parliament building with a placard hanging around his neck which read “Silent Protest”. He refused to speak on the issue.
(With inputs from agencies)Watch Security breach: Manickam Tagore, Kanimozhi among 15 MPs suspended for ‘unruly conduct’ in Parliament