The ongoing Winter Session of Parliament witnessed unprecedented events unfold on last Thursday, this Monday and Tuesday. A total of 141 members of Parliament from both the Lower and Upper Houses were suspended just in these three days. This is a record-breaking number, as Parliament had never before witnessed mass suspension of MPs at such a scale. The crucial factor to keep in mind here is that these suspensions were carried out over a minor issue.
Of course, the rule used to suspend MPs has been used before. The action was taken under Rule 374 of Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. The respective rule is used if the parliamentarian is disturbing or disrupting the business of the House. Speaker decides on whether the disruption was truly caused or not. However, there is no definite standard to define the severity of the punishment and the right to exercise the power lies in the hands of the Speaker. Nonetheless, the proceedings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are telecast live on television for the public to see and they can decide for themselves whether the Speaker acted impartially or not.
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The public has witnessed the ruckus by BJP MPs when they were in Opposition within and outside of the House. Given the hooliganism displayed by BJP members in the past, the ongoing alleged disruption of the House proceedings was fairly civilised. Parliament is the biggest official medium to present and resolve people’s questions which is why every Member of Parliament tries their best to make their voices heard. It is their right.
Two men opened gas canisters inside the Lower House chamber in the newly inaugurated Parliament building which is considered as the safest place in the country. This breach in the security questions and exposes the loopholes in the system. What if the men had carried explosives inside the House instead of coloured smoke? This could have proven to be fatal for the MPs. The persons involved did not do it casually for fun, but it was a well-planned security breach. This means they had spotted the weak link in the security. The Opposition was demanding that the country’s Minister for Home Affairs should address the issue in the House and sought details about why, how and what factors were involved.
What wrong did the Opposition members do? The members of the Parliament deserve to know the answers to their questions as only through them the general public will be able to comprehend the issue. However, the Minister for Home Affairs is not ready to speak in the House. In fact, it would have been better for the Prime Minister to address such a shocking incident that unfolded right inside the temple of democracy. Alas, neither leaders have spoken about it as yet and do not seem ready to do so in the near future either. The government has paid no heed to the rightful demands made by the Opposition which is why they are wreaking havoc as their last resort. It is needless to say that any form of disruption in the House cannot be supported but if the government is sidelining the Opposition then they are bound to act aggressive. The Opposition will demand answers which is their right and BJP carried out that duty when they were on the other side.
So, if the current Opposition is following in BJP’s footsteps then they should not have any problem. BJP’s stance while in power has changed more than when they were in Opposition. It has become a norm and people at large have accepted the fact. It is natural to question Home Ministers’ silence on such a grave issue. Prime Minister and Home Minister has addressed the matter outside the Parliament but have not repeated the same inside the House. The crucial Winter Session is underway and it would have been only befitting for the country’s top leaders to take the accountability. The reason why they are not addressing the issue in the House is probably because they do not want to answer cross-questions raised by the Opposition which is anything but democratic.
Our country has adopted Parliamentary Democracy that consists of ministers and MPs. PM had not addressed the Manipur violence in the House either. At last, the Opposition had to table a no-confidence vote against the PM compelling him to finally speak on the issue. Opposition forms a key component in Parliamentary Democracy and the government is trying to actively suppress their voice. This is anything but democracy. One cannot rule forever and BJP must understand that. Tomorrow, they could be in the place where Opposition is in today.
