"Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!”: Opposition leaders stage a protest demonstration over the mass suspension of MPs

Opposition MPs who were suspended from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha staged a protest demonstration on Thursday, from the old Parliament building to Vijay Chowk in central Delhi. Headed by prominent faces of the Opposition, the leaders led the march behind a large "Save Democracy" banner, and raised placards with slogans such as "Opposition MPs Suspended! Is This The End of Democracy?" and "Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!" The leaders walked in Unison, demanding accountability from the Union government over the Parliament security breach and the mass suspension of 143 Opposition MPs from the Parliament over the past week.

"We wanted to raise Parliament security breach. We are repeatedly requesting the Lok Sabha Speaker, and Rajya Sabha Chairman to allow us to speak on security breach…PM Modi, Home Minister should have spoken in the House on security breach... but the PM spoke elsewhere and did not turn up in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha," said Congress MP Mallickarjun Kharge.

During the protest, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP, which recently passed three new criminal laws after the expulsion of most opposition members, of lacking faith in democracy. The senior Congress leader also informed the reporters that members of the INDIA bloc will stage a second protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday.

The atmosphere of both houses of the Parliament has been tumultuous owing to the Opposition uproar over the Parliament security breach, and the Opposition’s persistent demand for a statement from the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Leaders of the Opposition have resorted to vehement sloganeering, some had even made their way to the well of the House, bearing placards with their demands on them, and this has, in turn, led to the suspension of a total of 143 Opposition MPs for alleged “unruly conduct.”

Despite calls for formal statements from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, they declined, citing national security concerns. However, they did communicate with the media. 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.

The ongoing conflict over the security breach and expulsions has been exacerbated by Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee's mimicry of Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar. Despite the TMC MP’s apology, the BJP has seized the opportunity to intensify its criticism of the protesting MPs, accusing them of showing disrespect to Jagdeep Dhankhar, who also serves as the Vice President of India. In response, the Congress has asserted that the "entire Modi ecosystem" is actively highlighting Kalyan Banerjee’s “light-hearted skit”, while BJP's Pratap Simha, whose office issued visitor passes to the Parliament intruders, remains an MP and has not faced questioning so far.