Mass Suspension of MPs: Disproportionate Punishment
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-12-21 05:58:16
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The India Commentary view
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The logjam over opposition demand for a discussion on the security breach at Parliament House and a statement by Home minister Amit Shah continues. The opposition is bent on having its way and the government thinks that the issue is being politicized by opposition parties so it is not conceding their demands.
There is no doubt that the security breach was an incident of national importance. Parliament House is one of the most secure buildings in Delhi. It has a very tight security protocol which was further strengthened after the 2001 attack on the old Parliament building. It was recently revisited after US-based terrorist G S Pannun threatened another attack. Still, the security was breached by amateurs.
Hence, the opposition is right in demanding a discussion and a statement by the Home minister. They are going about it in a ugly manner but that too is the result of the government being adamant in not allowing a discussion. Still, the suspension of 143 MPs is not acceptable. The punishment meted out to the MPs is highly disproportionate to their actions. It means that for the rest of the winter session, 26% of India goes unrepresented in Parliament. It also means that several important bills, like the criminal law bills, for instance, were passed without any discussion or debate. This is not the way a democracy functions.
The best way to diffuse the crisis was for the Home minister to have made a suo motu statement in both the Houses a day after the incident giving out details that were available with the government at that time. Then a limited discussion should have been allowed on the matter to let the opposition have its say. Inflexibility on part of the government is not good in this matter as it is the failure of the security apparatus and not the government. Yes, it is answerable to Parliament for the breach but if facts were disclosed, the matter would have been clear. The government should now take the lead for restoring normalcy.
