MPs' suspension: Disproportionate punishment

The strong action taken by the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha against a number of Opposition MPs sends out a message of political confrontation, not of parliamentary accommodation. In the first week of the monsoon session four MPs of the Lok Sabha were suspended for the entire session, and the very next day, 19 members of the Rajya Sabha were suspended for a week. On Wednesday, one more member was suspended for the remainder of the week. In the Lok Sabha, it was held that the suspended members, who had brought placards into the House demanding a discussion on price rise, had lowered its dignity. In the Rajya Sabha, the 20 members were suspended for storming the well of the House and raising slogans, again demanding a discussion on GST hike, inflation, fuel prices and the Gujarat hooch tragedy. In neither House the suspended MPs deserved the punishment meted out to them. The action was disproportionate to their ‘offence’.

The Opposition is badly outnumbered in the Lok Sabha, and it only has a precarious majority in the Rajya Sabha. It is for the government to ensure that both Houses run well and Parliament’s business is conducted smoothly and efficiently. The best parliamentary norms and traditions demand that it bend backwards and even go out of the way to accommodate the Opposition. Questions and answers and debates and discussions are essential for the functioning of Parliament. The government has to be ready for inconvenient questions and debates because that is what Parliament is meant for. The action against the Opposition members would only show that the government is not ready for that. It is not the first time that placards were taken into the House or members have run into the well of the House. These should not have been countered with such stern punitive action.

The late BJP leader Arun Jaitley had even justified the obstruction of Parliament in certain situations when he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The government’s policy seems to be to use any kind of protest and obstruction as an excuse to extern the Opposition. The ruling side, with its majority, can enforce the rules in any way to have its way. This is also in line with its policy of giving no room to the Opposition in the wider politics of the nation. But democratic institutions are weakened by exclusion and confrontation, and they thrive on inclusion and accommodation. A majority in Parliament will help the government to have its bills passed effortlessly. But Parliament is not just for passing bills. It is also for conversation and deliberation. The government should realise this and revoke the damaging action it has taken.