Opposition MPs are adamant on discussing the security breach of Parliament in the winter session. Meanwhile, major action was taken against opposition MPs for disrupting the proceedings. So far, 141 opposition MPs have been suspended during the session. Let us know about the history of suspension of MPs…

Record MPs suspended: There was a serious incident of security breach during the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on December 13 during the winter session of Parliament. Since this incident, opposition MPs have mobilized against the central government. The opposition is demanding a discussion from the government on the breach in Parliament’s security and a response from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Opposition MPs created a ruckus in both houses on this demand.

Several opposition MPs were suspended from the winter session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for “disrupting proceedings” after loud sloganeering and violation of rules. So far, 141 opposition MPs have been suspended in the ongoing winter session. Last week on Thursday, 13 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP were suspended. On Monday,  33  MPs from the Lok Sabha and  45  from the Rajya Sabha were suspended. After this, action was taken against  49  MPs of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. This is the highest number of suspended MPs in any session.

In 1989, 63 MPs were suspended: According to available data, the first case of suspension of MPs came in  1963. President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was addressing the joint sitting of Parliament. During this, some MPs created a ruckus and walked out of the House. These MPs were later suspended. In 1966, two Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended from the day’s proceedings. The largest number of suspensions of MPs took place in  1989  during the Rajiv Gandhi government. When 63 MPs were simultaneously suspended for three days. At that time, there was an uproar over the report of the Thakkar Commission on the assassination of Indira Gandhi.  

Suspension action increased after 2010: During the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2010, there was a lot of uproar in the House. The MPs shouted slogans, threw copies of the bill, waved placards, and used pepper spray. Taking action on this, seven MPs were suspended from the Rajya Sabha.   The action was taken during the Budget Session in March 2010.  In 2012, eight Congress MPs from Telangana were suspended for four days during the Budget Session. The MPs were creating a ruckus demanding a separate Telangana state. During the Monsoon Session in August  2013,  12 MPs were suspended for five days. A month ago, nine MPs from Andhra Pradesh were suspended over the same issue. There was a lot of uproar in the House when the bill for the formation of the new state of Telangana was introduced. In February 2014,  16  MPs were suspended from the entire session for opposing the formation of Telangana. 

Suspension of MPs increased rapidly under Modi Govt.:This is not the first time in the last nine years that a large number of MPs have been suspended. Earlier in the Modi regime, MPs were suspended on a large scale in  2018.  During the winter session in January  2019, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended a total of 45 MPs from the Telugu Desam Party and AIADMK  for two days.  TDP MPs were creating a ruckus demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, AIADMK MPs of Tamil Nadu were opposing the proposed dam on the Cauvery River.  

During the Monsoon Session of July 2018, six Congress MPs were suspended for five days. During this time, the opposition was creating a ruckus demanding a discussion on the incidents of mob lynching.  During the  2020  monsoon session, eight MPs were suspended for the entire session. These MPs were protesting against the three agricultural laws brought by the central government. After the suspension, these MPs also staged an overnight protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises.  

In the 2020 budget session, seven Congress MPs were suspended from the entire session. These MPs were accused of snatching papers from the table of the Lok Sabha Speaker. At that time, opposition MPs were creating a ruckus demanding a discussion on the riots in Delhi. The suspension of the suspended MPs was revoked a week later.  

During the monsoon session in 2021, there was a lot of uproar over the Pegasus spy scandal,  farmers’ agitation, and rising prices of petrol and diesel. The uproar led to the adjournment of the House since died two days before its scheduled time. During this time there was a lot of uproar. Six TMC MPs were suspended from the House following the uproar.  Similarly, 12  Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended on the very first day of the 2021 winter session.