78 Opposition MPs suspended, most ever in a day: Why this happened, what Parliament rules say

Piyush Goyal, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, retorted: “The rude behaviour of the Congress and its friendly partners …has embarrassed the entire country. Both the Speaker and the Chairman were insulted today.”

Why were the MPs suspended?

The MPs in both Houses were suspended for disrupting Parliamentary proceedings while protesting last week’s Parliament security breach.

In Lok Sabha, the Opposition demanded a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah. Some MPs waved placards with their demands. Three — K Jayakumar, Vijay Vasanth and Abdul Khaleque, all from the Congress — climbed onto the Speaker’s podium.

In Rajya Sabha, the Opposition raised slogans on the Parliament breach and disrupted proceedings.

Why do MPs disrupt Parliament?

There is an old tradition, irrespective of which party or alliance is in opposition, of MPs causing a ruckus inside Parliament. “Over the years, four broad reasons have been identified for disorder in legislatures,” Chakshu Roy, head of outreach at PRS Legislative Research, wrote for The Indian Express in 2022.

These are i) the lack of time available to MPs for raising important matters, ii) the unresponsive attitude of the government and retaliatory posture by Treasury benches, iii) deliberate disruption by parties for political or publicity purposes, and iv) the absence of prompt action against MPs disrupting Parliamentary proceedings.

Over the decades, the say the Opposition has in deciding the Parliamentary calendar has been reducing. Not only does the Government set the agenda in Parliament and decide how much time will be dedicated to any issue, Parliamentary procedure also prioritises government business over other matters.

Parliament has not updated its rules over the last 70 years in this regard. All parties have disrupted Parliament — and their view on disruptions have been determined almost always by whether they are in power or not.

So, who can suspend the MPs? How?

The Presiding Officer — the Speaker of LS and Chairman of RS — plays the major role in meting out suspensions. In Lok Sabha, the Speaker acts in accordance with Rules 373, 374, and 374A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. In Rajya Sabha, the Chairman acts as per Rules 255 and 256 of the Rules. The procedure in both Houses is largely similar.

First, the presiding officers can direct an MP to withdraw from the House for any disorderly conduct (Rule 373 in LS, 255 in RS). If that does not work and the said MP continues to disrupt the House proceedings, the presiding officer can “name” the legislator (Rule 374 in LS, 256 in RS). After that, the House can move a motion to suspend the MP until the end of the session.

While these rules have mostly remained unchanged since 1952, in 2001, the Lok Sabha further empowered the Speaker to deal with “grave and disorderly conduct.” As per the new rule (Rule 374A), an MP “named” by the Speaker shall automatically stand suspended for a period of five days or the remaining part of the session. This rule removes the need for the House to pass a motion for suspension.

Notably, the Rajya Sabha has not incorporated this provision in its procedures. On Monday, after being named by the Rajya Sabha Chair, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to suspend the MPs. This was adopted by a voice vote.

How long can MPs be suspended for?

Mild offences are punished by admonition or reprimand, with the latter being the more serious of the two punishments.

After this comes the punishment of “withdrawal.” As per Rule Number 373 in Lok Sabha’s Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business: “The Speaker, if he is of the opinion that the conduct of any Member is grossly disorderly, may direct such Member to withdraw immediately from the House, and any Member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall remain absent during the remainder of the day’s sitting.”

However, continuing to disregard the Presiding Officer’s directions can invite the punishment of suspension. A member can be suspended, at the maximum, for the remainder of the session only. Moreover, the House, at any point of time, can reinstate a suspended member by passing a motion.

In cases of extreme misconduct, the House may expel a member “to rid the House of persons who are unfit for membership.”

Is suspending MPs common practice?

While it is a strong step, it is not uncommon. However, the number of suspensions have gone up over the last few years. At least 149 suspensions have been meted out, both Houses included, since 2019, compared with at least 81 in 2014-19, and at least 36 in 2009-14.

This has been an oft-debated issue, however, with Presiding Officers attempting to find ways to address it. “In most cases, disorders in the House arise out of a sense of frustration felt by members due to lack of opportunities to make his point, or clear his chest of grievances of the people that move him or out of the heat of the moment. They are perhaps easier to deal with,” Former President K R Narayanan, who chaired Rajya Sabha from 1992-97, said in a 1992 conference.

“What is more difficult to tackle is planned parliamentary offences and deliberate disturbances for publicity or for political motives,” he said.

In many ways, it falls on the Presiding Officer to maintain a crucial balance in the House. As a 2015 The Indian Express explainer on the issue said: “While enforcement of the supreme authority of the Speaker is essential for smooth conduct of proceedings, it must be remembered that her job is to run the House, not lord over it. The solution, therefore, has to be long-term, consistent with democratic values, and a changing India.”