49 Oppn MPs Suspended From LS Today, 141 Lawmakers Out In 2 Days

The strength of the Opposition INDIA bloc reduced further in the Parliament on Tuesday after more MPs were suspended for unruly behaviour and disregarding the directions of the Chair.

As many as 49 members were suspended on Tuesday, taking the total number of MPs suspended this session to 141. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Karti Chidambaram, NCP's Supriya Sule and Samajwadi Party's Dimple Yadav were among the MPs suspended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today.

The opposition members have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the December 13 security breach in Lok Sabha. They have raised slogans and disrupted proceedings of the House that saw repeated adjournments.

Responding to the latest development, senior Congress leader Jayaram Ramesh said, ""The new Parliament reflects Namocracy in all its tyranny,"

The spree of suspension started last week with the Lok Sabha suspending 13 members for the remaining part of the Winter Session for waving placards and disrupting proceedings over the Parliament security breach issue.

As many as 45 opposition members in Rajya Sabha were on Monday. Among those suspended were Congress MPs Pramod Tiwari, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav and TMC's Sukhendu Sekhar Ray. Almost half the MPs of the opposition INDIA bloc now stand suspended, including leaders and whips of several key parties.

The development occurred soon after 33 opposition members in Lok Sabha including leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK's T R Baalu and TMC's Sougata Ray were suspended following similar scenes in the Lower House.

While 34 of the Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Winter session, 11 have been suspended and directed to stay away from the House pending an inquiry report on their conduct by the Committee of Privileges.

TMC's Derek O'Brien was suspended from the House last week for misconduct.