INDIA bloc leaders walk in Delhi against House axe, ‘worst kind of authoritarianism’

Mallikarjun Kharge raised his hand and stood up several times during Zero Hour to raise the security breach issue but was not allowed by the Chair

INDIA leaders at the protest march inside the Parliament complex on Thursday.: PTI picture

TT Bureau, New Delhi, 22.12.23 : INDIA bloc leaders on Thursday marched from the old Parliament building to Vijay Chowk to protest against the record suspension of Opposition lawmakers as three more MPs faced the axe in the Lok Sabha, completing a century in the Lower House on the last day of the winter session.

Congress MPs D.K. Suresh, Deepak Baij and Nakul Nath were suspended after they stood in the Well of the Lok Sabha, waved placards and raised slogans demanding a statement from home minister Amit Shah over the Parliament security breach. This pushed the total number of Opposition MPs ousted from the Lok Sabha alone to 100 and the total, including 46 Rajya Sabha members, in the current session to an unprecedented 146.

The latest suspensions appeared to have been done to ensure no protest or slogan shouting as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to attend the Lok Sabha before it was adjourned sine die. Modi was seen in the House on the first and last days of the current session.

Earlier in the morning, the INDIA leaders marched from the old Parliament building to Vijay Chowk in central Delhi, about a kilometre apart, carrying a large “Save Democracy” banner and placards saying “Opposition MPs Suspended! Is This The End of Democracy?” and "Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!”

“Passing important legislation by suspending Opposition MPs is not Democracy. It is the worst kind of authoritarianism,” leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X.

Talking to reporters during the march, Kharge said: “PM Modi and the home minister should have spoken in the House on the security breach. The PM spoke elsewhere and did not turn up in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.”

Kharge and some other Opposition leaders who were spared suspension tried hard in the Rajya Sabha to raise the Parliament security breach but failed. They staged a walkout twice during the proceedings of the day.

Kharge raised his hand and stood up several times during Zero Hour to raise the security breach issue but was not allowed by the Chair. “Listen to us,” Kharge was heard saying but deputy chairman Harivansh denied him an opportunity. Congress MP Digvijaya Singh entered the Well to protest the denial of opportunity to Kharge and staged a walkout with others.

In the afternoon, the House started discussing the three bills on criminal law. The INDIA MPs were in attendance and Digvijaya was heard asking for permission to raise a point of order. He was not allowed. Within five minutes, the Opposition staged a walkout.

With almost the entire Opposition edged out of both Houses, the government rushed through key bills, prominent among them being the three critical criminal law bills, without any meaningful debate. After their passage in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the three bills were passed by the Rajya Sabha through voice vote. The telecommunications bill was also passed in the Upper House.

In the Lok Sabha, a key bill to regulate the appointment of chief election commissioner and election commissioners and the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill was passed. Speaking in the House, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Singh Thakur claimed media freedom under the Modi government like never before in the last 75 years.