Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday reacted to the suspension of 78 Members of Parliament from both Houses during the winter session, saying that the mother of democracy has orphaned it. He urged citizens to take the onus of ensuring the ‘survival of democracy’.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sibal wrote, “Mother of Democracy. Has orphaned it! The people of India must take care and ensure its survival.”
A total of 92 Members of Parliament have been suspended for the remainder of the ongoing Winter Session, scheduled to end on 22 December. Ruckus in Parliament ensued after the 13 December Parliament security breach incident, with Opposition MPs seeking a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
On Monday, in a rather unprecedented move, 78 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament within a day, marking the highest number of suspensions from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The move triggered a strong reaction from the Congress and other parties that accused the BJP government of trying to bulldoze key legislations in an “Opposition-less” Parliament.
Monday’s action has taken the total number of opposition MPs suspended from both houses to 92 since last Thursday on the issue.
AAP member Sanjay Singh has been suspended as a Rajya Sabha member from 24 July. Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Derek O’Brien was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the Winter Session citing “unruly conduct”.
On Thursday, the Lok Sabha suspended 13 members for the remaining part of the Winter Session for waving placards and disrupting proceedings over the Parliament security breach issue.
In the Lok Sabha, 33 members, including floor leaders of the Congress and DMK – the two large parties in the opposition, were suspended on Monday for unruly behavior. While 30 members were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session in Lok Sabha, three members were suspended, pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
The three — K Jayakumar, Vijay Vasanth, and Abdul Khaleque — had climbed onto the Speaker’s podium to raise slogans.
The suspension triggered a political slugfest with opposition members terming the action as a “murder of democracy” and BJP MP and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal claiming that the action was necessary as the opposition MPs insulted the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has criticized the suspension of 78 Members of Parliament (MPs) from both Houses during the winter session, stating that it has orphaned the mother of democracy. He called on citizens to take responsibility for ensuring the survival of democracy. This comes after a total of 92 MPs were suspended following the Parliament security breach incident on 13 December. Opposition MPs demanded a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, leading to disruptions in Parliament. The suspension of MPs has triggered a strong reaction from the Congress and other parties, accusing the BJP government of attempting to pass legislations in an “Opposition-less” Parliament. The suspension has been widely criticized, with opposition members calling it a “murder of democracy” and BJP MP Piyush Goyal defending the action, stating that the opposition MPs had insulted the Speaker and Chairman of the two Houses.
