92 Opposition MPs suspended for the remainder of the Winter session for protesting over the Parliament security breach

The Rajya Sabha on Monday suspended 45 Opposition MPs for the remainder of the Winter Session, hours after the Lok Sabha suspended 33 MPs for seeking a statement from Amit Shah regarding the Parliamentary security breach. 14 MPs were suspended last week for protesting inside the house of the Parliament and for their demand of a statement by the Union Home Minister. This takes the total tally of suspended MPs to 92. The Opposition has called the move has been called a deliberate attempt to “bulldoze important pending legislations, crush any dissent, without any debate”, in the Parliament.

“We have two simple and genuine demands - 1. The Union Home Minister should make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on the inexcusable breach in Parliament security. 2. A detailed discussion should be held on the same. PM can give an interview to a newspaper; Home Minister can give interviews to TV channels. But, they have ZERO accountability left to the Parliament - which represents the PEOPLE OF INDIA! With an Opposition-Less Parliament, the Modi Govt can now bulldoze important pending legislations, crush any dissent, without any debate,” said senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge taking to social media platform “X”.

The Rajya Sabha passed a motion moved by Piyush Goyal, leading to the suspension of the 45 MPs for alleged “misconduct”. Earlier today, the Lok Sabha suspended 33 MPs amidst the ongoing protests over the Parliament security scare. 30 MPs were suspended for their conduct in the house, and 3 were suspended over the breach of privilege prove against them.

"34 MPs have been suspended. The case of 11 MPs has been referred to the Privilege Committee. A total of 45 Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended today. They did not want the House to run smoothly, this was their pre-planned strategy," said Piyush Goyal in a media statement, calling out the misconduct of the MPs in both houses.

In addition, the Opposition has also been demanding the reinstatement of the suspended MPs. Congress MPs Mohammed Jawaid, Hibi Eden, Benny Behanan, Dean Kuriakose, and CPI(M)'s S Venkatesan staged a protest against the government on the steps of Makar Dwar in Parliament, holding placards.

Taking to social media platform “X”, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister have spoken to the media on the breach, but have not issued a statement in either of the houses. "The Prime Minister speaks to a leading newspaper on the very serious December 13th security breach in the Lok Sabha. The Home Minister speaks to a TV channel on the security breach. Parliament is in session. INDIA parties are demanding a statement from the Home Minister in both Houses on the shocking incidents. It is a simple, straightforward, and legitimate demand. But Home Minister refuses to make a statement which is his duty and responsibility," posted Jairam Ramesh.

In an interview with Dainik Jagaran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the incident is of a "very serious" nature. “Investigative agencies are probing rigorously. It is important to know who all are behind this and what plans they have. We should also seek solutions with a single mind. Everyone should refrain from debate, controversy, or resistance on such matters," said PM Modi.

On Wednesday, December 13, which happened to the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attacks, a massive security breach rattled the Lok Sabha when two men, identified as Sagar and Manoranjan, barged into the chamber from the public gallery and released yellow smoke. They were pinned down by the MPs after which they were handed over to security. At the same time, two others, Neelam and Amol, deployed colored smoke bombs outside the Parliament. As per reports, the intruders wanted to draw the attention of the MPs and the government towards issues such as unemployment, inflation and Manipur violence. The family members of Neelam Singh and Amol Shinde have stated that these individuals were experiencing distress because they were unable to secure a job even after repeated attempts.

All four suspects were arrested and put in seven-day police custody by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday. Lalit Jha, considered the "mastermind," was arrested on Friday for circulating protest videos on social media. Another individual, Mahesh Kumawat, was detained and later arrested by Delhi Police on Saturday, confirmed to be part of the conspiracy to attack the Lok Sabha.