Opposition MPs during a protest over their suspension at Mahatma Gandhi statue amid the Winter session of Parliament. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi (TIP) – Three more Congress MPs, including DK Suresh, Nakul Nath and Deepak Baij, were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Thursday, December 21, for the “remainder” of the winter session that was incidentally adjourned sine die later, a day ahead of its scheduled culmination. With this, the total number of MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha reached 100 while the count stood at 46 for the Rajya Sabha, taking the total of suspended parliamentarians in both Houses to an unprecedented 146. Of the total 545 seats in the Lower House, 23 are vacant. After the 100 suspensions, the Lok Sabha strength stood at 422 as 23 of the 545 seats are vacant. In the Rajya Sabha, where seven of the 245 seats are vacant, the strength of the House after the 46 suspensions was reduced to 192.
Of the 100 MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha during the winter session, 13 faced action last week, 33 on December 18, 49 on December 19, two on Wednesday and three on Thursday. Of the 46 MPs suspended from the Rajya Sabha, one faced action last week and 45 on December 18.
“The Lok Sabha has taken a serious note of the misconduct of Deepak Baij, DK Suresh and Nakul Nath for showing utter disregard to the authority of the Chair by displaying placards and entering the well of the House. Therefore, they may be suspended from the House for the remaining session,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said as he moved a motion for the suspension of the MPs. Speaker Birla had earlier warned the MPs, who were protesting the suspension of a large number of MPs and demanding a discussion on the Parliament security breach issue and a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah.
Despite the suspensions, the Lok Sabha achieved 74 per cent productivity while the count stood at 79 per cent for the Rajya Sabha.
The fourteenth session of the 17th Lok Sabha, which commenced on December 4, comprised of 14 sittings and lasted for 61 hours 50 minutes.
‘Weaponizing disruptions as political strategy’:
V-P Dhankhar hits out at Opposition MPs
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said the Upper House lost nearly 22 hours of business due to “avoidable disruptions” during the winter session, which was adjourned sine die a day ahead of schedule.
In his remarks on the conclusion of the winter session, Dhankhar criticised the members for “weaponizing disruptions and disturbance as a political strategy”, which he said doesn’t resonate with the constitutional obligation of keeping the interest of people at large above any other political considerations.
The winter session of Parliament was marred with the opposition’s protest demanding a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the security breach and the subsequent mass suspensions of MPs.
Despite the absence of the majority of opposition lawmakers owing to the large-scale suspensions, the government tabled and passed some crucial bills, including the ones replacing the British-era criminal code and regulating the appointment of top election officials.
“A total of 17 Bills including important path breaking bills related to Jammu & Kashmir, Appointment of Election Commissioners, the Post Office Bill, The Telecommunications Bill and the three Bills namely Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were passed during this session,” the chairman said, adding that the three bills “unshackled colonial legacy of criminal jurisprudence that was hurtful to the citizens of this country and favouring alien rulers.”
Taking note of the passage of the Bill to repeal the Indian Post Office Act, 1898 and to consolidate and amend the law relating to the post offices in India, Dhankhar said, “The Post Office Bill revamped the old colonial structure to set up the stage for fulfillment of the aspirations of the people of the country.”