*Paromita Das
After four Congress MPs were expelled from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the current session on Tuesday for alleged misconduct, the political rift was further widened and the stage was set for more turbulent days in the monsoon session of Parliament when 19 opposition members were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for one week.
The 20 MPs who have been placed on administrative leave for Monday and Tuesday include seven from the TMC, six from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and one each from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Suspension of Members of Parliament
On March 9, 2010, as the Rajya Sabha passed the historic Women’s Reservation Bill, one Member of Parliament (MP) shattered a glass and brandished a sharp object as if to slash his own wrist. The bill sought to give women only one-third of the seats in state legislatures and the Lok Sabha.
However, the Lok Sabha never approved the bill.
Seven MPs were suspended altogether during debates on March 8 and 9, 2010, as tensions rose, demonstrations turned violent, and political divisions widened over disagreements about whether the bill should include a “quota within quota” to further accommodate SC and ST women.
The Parliament has seen a variety of political situations act as catalysts of ferocious protests, frequently leading to the suspension of MPs, from the women’s bill to the days of the Telanagana agitation, from the contentious farm bills to the most recent ongoing protests over price rise.
Whatever the offense, Parliament always uses the same argument to support the suspension of its representatives. Every resolution includes the phrase “for serious note of misconduct in utter disregard of the House and the authority of the Chair” as an explanation for the suspension.
An earlier suspension history
In 1963, an MP interrupted and left the Central Hall as President Sarvapalli Radhakrishan was giving his speech to both Houses. The errant MP was suspended as a result of this incident, making it the first such instance in the annals of the Indian Parliament.
Raj Narain was twice suspended in 1966 and 1974, best known for defeating the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 1977 e The MP Thakkar Commission report on Indira Gandhi’s assassination sparked outrage, and on March 15, 1989, as many as 63 lawmakers, or nearly 12% of the House’s strength, were suspended in a single day, causing what is arguably the biggest uproar over MP suspensions in the Lok Sabha in the 1980s. The report blamed some of the people regarded as close to Gandhi and found several flaws in the late PM’s security system.
However, as the polity became more diverse with the emergence of powerful regional satraps, disruptions and consequently punitive measures increased. Pranab Mukherjee, a former finance minister, had stated on numerous occasions that “a small party of 8-10 MPs are enough to stall proceedings in Parliament.”elections. When compared to the years between 2006 and 2014, the number of suspension cases has significantly increased under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. 51 MPs in both Houses were suspended between the monsoon session of 2006 and February 2014, while 139 were suspended between the monsoon session of 2015 and the present.
Equal-sided goal
Suspension typically occurs in the Opposition camps, as is clear from nearly all of the cases. To put an end to pro- and anti-Telangana demonstrations in Parliament, however, the ruling Congress was forced to suspend lawmakers from its own party in 2012. Eight Lok Sabha members—all leaders of the Congress—were suspended as a result of their continued protests despite requests from senior ministers for them to sit down.
Parliament wasn’t immune to the political ramifications of the Telangana agitation in 2013, when it gained additional traction. Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs led the demonstrations, with the latter group adamantly opposed to the establishment of a new state in the Telugu-speaking region.
The government also moved a suspension notice against four TDP lawmakers for the same reason while moving a resolution to suspend eight Congressmen for the remainder of the session.
Mass suspension throughout time
Mass suspensions have historically been used by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to maintain order and rein in chaos.
For “gross disorderly conduct,” Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu suspended Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’Brien, Aam Admi Party leader Sanjay Singh, Congress leaders Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain, and Ripun Borah, CPIM’s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem, and Trinamool’s Dola Sen in 2020.
Numerous such mass suspensions have occurred in the Lok Sabha as well. In February 2014, during the Telangana controversy, 18 Andhra Pradesh MPs were suspended by Meira Kumar, the Lok Sabha Speaker at the time.
When lawmakers apologize for their actions, suspension orders may be revoked.
A fight between 12 opposition lawmakers and parliamentary staff during the previous session led to their suspension for the entire winter session, which was almost a complete washout. Also in 2020, following significant protests against the adoption of farm bills, MPs were suspended.
Where the LS and RS diverge, and vice versa
Undoubtedly, suspending disloyal lawmakers continues to be a successful strategy for restoring harmony and order in the House and produces quick results. But it had never been the presiding officers’ preferred method of dealing with challenging circumstances.
“All presiding officers make every effort to break impasses amicably through dialogs, and our parliamentary system provides a sufficient number of channels for doing so. But occasionally they are left with no choice, according to an MP. The suspension process differs in each House, just as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have different colors—green and pale red—and different sets of rules.
According to House rules, the Lok Sabha Speaker has the advantage over the Rajya Sabha Chairman in situations involving the suspension of MPs. In the event of serious disorder, he has the authority to automatically suspend MPs. Although this rule was only added in December 2001, it was used five times in the 16th Lok Sabha and four times in the 15th Lok Sabha.
The Lower House’s Rule 374A states that, “Notwithstanding anything contained in rules 373 and 374, in the event of grave disorder occasioned by a member entering the well of the House or abusing the Rules of the House by persistently and wilfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans or otherwise, such member shall, upon being named by the Speaker, stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever comes first.
In other words, the Speaker wouldn’t need any help; he could decide on his own whether a particular lawmaker had caused serious disorder and suspend him. The Lok Sabha Speaker is able to maintain control in a crisis thanks to this automatic suspension power, despite its sparse use.
The Upper House has also discussed changing the rules to include this automatic suspension clause, but no final decisions have been made as of yet.
Similar but with different rules are the other two suspension clauses in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The Chair member must “direct any member whose conduct in his opinion is grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately” from the House, according to Rule 373 of the Lok Sabha and Rule 255 of the Upper House, and the member must do so immediately for the rest of the day.
The Speaker or the Chairman may “name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the House by persistently and wilfully obstructing the business,” according to Lok Sabha Rule 374 (1) and Rajya Sabha Rule 256, respectively. A motion can be made to suspend the MP “from the service of the House for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session” if he or she is named.
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