Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: ‘Let them suspend all of us and let Modi complete his century’

Why do you think the government is resorting to such an extreme step?

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: This is nothing but ego and arrogance about the BJP doing whatever it wants irrespective of whether the House functions or not and whether democratic traditions are being kept alive or not.

Parliamentary democracy in India is heading towards its nadir. The government believes in totalitarianism. Today it is the MPs, tomorrow it will be the turn of common people. This is foreboding of what India is going to face in the near future.

Do you think the suspension of a large number of opposition MPs will evoke any sympathy among the common people?

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: The media is now toeing the line of the government and dancing to its tune. All sorts of measures will be adopted to distort the facts and figures. We (the Opposition) do not have the kind of reach the ruling regime does. We are certainly lagging behind a little in this regard.

But the common people will realise the situation soon. The BJP’s fascism will grow. The ruling regime is simply trying to portray itself as popular and muscular; it is a very toxic combination.

Opposition MPs were suspended even during Congress rule. In 1989, 63 Lok Sabha were suspended in a day.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: Comparisons are not right. You have to see the circumstances, the relevancy, and the issues. It (the present situation) is related to a serious security lapse in Parliament. We have been cooperating with this government since day one of this session. You can see the productivity data of this session. The security breach was quite grave and our simple demand was for the Home Minister to make a statement. In 2001, the then Home Minister L K Advani had made a statement in Parliament after the December 13 attack.

What is going to be the opposition strategy now? Are you going to boycott the rest of the session?

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: It will be decided at the meeting of Opposition floor leaders convened by Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday. All stakeholders will be consulted. The government does not want to run Parliament. They do not have an iota of interest in the parliamentary system. They do not care for norms, precedents and traditions. The PM and Home Minister chose to speak about the security breach during interactions with the media. But they are not willing to say a word in the House. Such behaviour is antithetical to parliamentary protocols. The Opposition will continue to protest. Let them suspend all of us and let Modi complete his century.