As Parliament purges MPs, Modi lays blame squarely on Opposition

With 141 MPs getting suspended from Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (December 19) squarely blamed the Opposition parties for the state of affairs. The suspended MPs, from Opposition parties, had demanded a discussion and statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the security breach that happened in the Parliament complex on December 13.

Modi today said it was the Opposition that had given indirect support to people involved in the incident.

“The MPs were suspended because of the misconduct of these MPs in the House, and the House took serious note of the misconduct of the MPs. There was disregard for the House and the authority of the Chair, including the display of placards. The MPs were named by the Chair,” said Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs.

While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government blamed the Opposition, saying it deliberately obstructed the two Houses of Parliament, the Modi asked BJP MPs to continue to participate in the debates on crucial issues and Bills that will be taken up for discussion in the remaining few days of the Winter Session.

The Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to end on December 22, and this session is important because it is the last full session of Parliament before the general elections of 2024 in April-May next year.

'All eyes on elections'

“PM Modi expressed pain over the incident that happened in the Parliament. Parliament is a place where discussions should be held. Various Bills which are important to pave the way for the progress of the country should be discussed in the Parliament...How can any party that believes in democracy can seek to covertly or overtly justify what happened in the Parliament?” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, senior BJP leader and former union minister after the parliamentary party meeting of BJP.

Speaking to the BJP parliamentarians for the first time since the security breach at Parliament, Modi further said that the Opposition parties were coming together to defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections, and that was the only reason why some Opposition parties decided to unite against the BJP-NDA combine.

The PM also emphasised that the actions of the Opposition parties were being watched by the people of the country, who have made up their minds that the opposition parties will remain in opposition after the 2024 general elections. Modi also said that there was a possibility that the number of opposition members in Parliament would get further reduced because of the actions of the opposition leaders.

“It was decided not to bring placards inside the House. Due to desperation after losing recent elections, they are taking such steps. This is the reason we brought a proposal to suspend MPs,” said Pralhad Joshi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister.