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3 more Lok Sabha MPs suspended, total suspension tally hits 146
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday suspended 3 more Opposition MPs, citing "unruly behavior," bringing the total number of suspended MPs to 146. The suspensions come hours after members of the INDIA bloc conducted a march from the Parliament to Vijay Chowk to protest against the “arbitrary” nature of the suspensions. The three MPs suspended are DK Suresh, Nakul Nath, and Deepak Baij, of Congress.
The count of suspended Members of Parliament in the lower house has reached an even 100, and 146 in total, both houses combined. The series of suspensions commenced earlier this week in response to the Opposition's insistence on a statement from the Union Home Minister regarding the massive security breach in the Lok Sabha.
"It's like batting in a cricket match without any fielders. They are bringing very far-reaching laws which will have grave impact on to the daily life of this country, but they don't want any discussion, debate or dissent about it," said Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, in response to the suspension of MPs and the passage of crucial bills in the absence of the Opposition.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the Union Home Minister “insulted” the Parliamentary democracy by not a statement on the floor of the house."A major security breach occurs. Instead of fulfilling his duty as a minister, (Union Home Minister Amit Shah), insults Parliamentary democracy by not only refusing to appear in the House, which is his duty, but also going outside and issuing press statements, saying all the things that he could have said in the House," said Tharoor.
During the protest rally of the Opposition on Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had breached parliamentary privilege by not addressing the security breach issue within the Parliament. Carrying a large 'Save Democracy' banner and displaying placards with messages such as 'Opposition MPs Suspended,' 'Parliament Caged,' and 'Democracy Expelled,' the MPs lodged their protest.
