Black day for Indian democracy as record 19 opposition MPs suspended; Modi minister rues

THE ongoing monsoon session of the Indian parliament has witnessed frequent disruptions due to protests held by the opposition parties and on Tuesday (26), the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of the parliament saw one of its lowest points in history when as many as 19 members were suspended for the remaining part of week for allegedly disrupting the House proceedings.

It was the maximum number of parliamentarians who were suspended in a single batch.

The move came after four members of parliament (MPs) of the opposition Indian National Congress were suspended from the Lok Sabha or Lower House for the entire monsoon session for holding protests with placards indoors.

On Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha barely functioned as the opposition members staged protests over issues such as price rise and hike of Goods and Services Tax on essential items, accusing the Narendra Modi government of avoiding discussions.

Suspension with heavy heart, says Modi minister

Indian commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who is also the leader of the Upper House, later said the chairperson took the step of suspending the opposition parliamentarians with a "heavy heart" after they ignored his repeated appeal to let the House function and continued with their protest. Goyal said the government is ready to have talks on the issues under scanner once the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, who has contracted Covid-19, returned to the House.

Sitharaman is also a member of the Rajya Sabha.

However, the opposition members did not stop their protests after the suspension and the penalised parliamentarians even refused to exit the House. The House was repeatedly adjourned throughout the day and after the opposition refused to relent, it was adjourned for the day with a little business transaction taking place.

The opposition MPs have been stalling the House proceedings since the beginning of the monsoon session on July 18 to press the government for immediate talks on price rise and the levy of GST on essential items. On Tuesday, 19 of them were suspended by the House's deputy chairman Harivansh after they ignored his repeated pleas to go back to their seats.

Seven of the 19 suspended MPs belong to the Trinamool Congress; six from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and three from the Left parties -- Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India.

Last November, 12 opposition members were suspended on grounds of misconduct. Tuesday's numbers broke the record.