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Parliament security breach: Lok Sabha ‘mistakenly’ suspends DMK MP Parthiban who was not in the House

Several MPs claimed later Parthiban was named among the suspended MPs even though he was not present in the Lok Sabha.

Sumit Jha

Published Dec 14, 2023 | 7:23 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 14, 2023 | 7:54 PM

Parliament security breach: Lok Sabha ‘mistakenly’ suspends DMK MP Parthiban who was not in the House

When Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha to suspend the MP from the House, he was clearly heard taking SR Parthiban name.

The Lok Sabha suspended an MP from Tamil Nadu from the House for the rest of the winter session for disrupting the proceedings over the security breach.

The only catch was that the MP, SR Parthiban of the DMK representing Salem, was not in the Lok Sabha.

When Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha to suspend the MPs from the House, he mentioned the name of Parthiban.

“I was in Delhi but did not visit the Parliament today (Thursday). I was not there during the session,” Partiban told South First.

Several MPs claimed later that Parthiban was named among the suspended MPs even though he was not present in the House.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, “There is comedy in this suspension, SR Parthiban has been named in the list, he wasn’t even in the LS today. I guess they can’t make out one Tamilian from another.”

“15 MPs of Opposition parties were suspended from the Lok Sabha for rest of the winter session till 22nd for holding placards demanding an answer from HM on the security breach. Parthiban of DMK was not present during that time but his name too was included in suspension list,” said Dr Senthilkumar S, the DMK MP on X.

Meanwhile, Minister Joshi said on Thursday evening: “A total of 13 MPs have been suspended from the Lok Sabha. An MP who was not present at the well was also suspended… We requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to drop that name and the Speaker accepted this.”

On Thursday 15 Opposition MPs were suspended from the two Houses of Parliament for the remainder of the winter session for disrupting proceedings over the security breach in the Lok Sabha and demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Of the 15, 14 were suspended from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.

The 15 MPs — nine from the Congress, two each from the DMK and CPI(M), and one each from the CPI and Trinamool Congress (TMC) — were among those vociferously demanding the resignation of Shah in the Houses over the breach in security at the Parliament building on Wednesday.

Of nine Congress Lok Sabha MPs suspended, six are from Kerala — N Prathapan (Thrissur), Hibi Eden (Ernakulam), Ramya Haridas (Alathur), Dean Kuriakose (Idukki), Benny Behanan (Chalakkudy), and VK Sreekandan (Palakkad) — two from Tamil Nadu — Jothimani Sennimalai (Karur), and Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar) — and Mohammed Jawed from Kishanganj, Bihar.

Other Lok Sabha members suspended were Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi) and SR Parthiban (Salem), both from DMK, CPI(M) members PR Natarajan (Coimbatore), and S Venkatesan (Madurai), and CPI member K Subbarayan (Tiruppur) — all from Tamil Nadu.

The lone Rajya Sabha MP suspended was Derek O’Brien of the TMC.

Also read: MPs suspended for protesting Parliament security breach

‘Efforts to divert attention’

Speaking to South First, Ramya Haridas said the suspensions were part of the efforts to divert attention from the grave mistake of BJP’s Mysuru MP who issued the passes causing the security breach.

“The ruling party must hang its head in shame over its actions. It must not kill democracy by engaging in insensitive actions. No Opposition MP caused any shame to the nation. People are watching and realising the suspension drama,” said the MP.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Thursday termed the suspension of Opposition MPs as “shooting the messenger” and alleged that the BJP government had reduced Parliament to a “rubber stamp”.

In a post on X, Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge said, “Having endangered National Security and the safety of the temple of our Democracy — the Parliament, the BJP is now shooting the messenger.The suspension of 15 opposition MPs from the Parliament because they wanted a discussion on the grave security breach is SUSPENSION OF DEMOCRACY !”

He questioned: “What is their crime? Is it a crime to urge the Union Home Minister to make a statement in the House? Is it a crime to want a discussion on the perilous security breach? Does it not invoke draconian shades of dictatorship, a hallmark of the present dispensation?”

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also slammed the government over the issue, saying it was trying to digress from the main issue of security breach.

“Democracy is being ruthlessly sacrificed,” Chowdhury told reporters.

Amid Opposition protests demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the security breach, Joshi moved two resolutions separately for the suspension of the MPs for disrupting the Lok Sabha proceedings.

DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said: “There is an MP who had actually given the passes for these (accused of Parliament security breach) people to come in. No action has been taken against that MP. Whereas we saw what happened in Mahua’s case. Without even the inquiry being complete, she has been disqualified and this MP is not even suspended.”

“He’s inside Parliament with us. And when we protested and we want the PM and the Home Minister to come and give a statement in the House, they’re not prepared to do that. And when we protested, they are suspending all the opposition MPs. First suspended five, then they suspended nine people. So how is this democracy?,” she questioned.

“Suspension of 15 Opposition MPs, including DMK MP Kanimozhi is undemocratic and undermines the spirit of Parliamentary democracy. The intolerant attitude of the BJP-led Union Govt is condemnable. Is crushing MPs’ freedom of expression the new norm in our Parliament?” questioned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

“Why are people’s representatives punished for seeking answers on a major security breach in our temple of democracy ? We demand the immediate revocation of the 15 MPs’ suspension. Parliament must be a forum for debate and definitely not for silencing Opposition,” he added.

Parliament security breach: Brain behind breach still on the run

Timeline of the parliament security breach

  • In 2022, Lalit Jha, Sagar Sharma (26) and Manoranjan D (34) met in Mysuru where they made a plan to barge into Parliament to attract the attention of the country. Later Neelam (37) and Amol (25) joined the plan.
  • The five joined a Bhagat Singh fan page on Facebook after coming in touch with each other on social media for four years.
  • Manoranjan, at the instruction of Lalit Jha, allegedly the main conspirator of the plan, conducted a recce of the Parliament building during the monsoon session in July this year and noticed that the shoes of the visitors were not checked.
  • The five gathered at Gurugram resident Vishal Sharma’s house on 10 December and stayed there till 12 December.
  • All five left for the Parliament building on 13 December morning. Manoranjan had procured visitor passes through Mysore-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha.
  • Sagar and Manoranjan entered the new Parliament building and reached the visitors’ gallery. At around 1 pm on 13 December, Sagar jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber. Manoranjan also tried to jump and was seen hanging from the railing of the visitors’ gallery.
  • They released yellow-coloured smoke from canisters they had smuggled inside in their shoes. They were overpowered and thrashed by the MPs in the House and handed over to security personnel.
  • Around the same time, Neelam and Amol released gas from similar canisters and raised slogans outside the Parliament building. Lalit who was with them shot a video that was later shared on Instagram.
  • Neelam and Amol were caught by the policemen, while Lalit managed to give them a slip.
  •  All four — Sagar, Manoranjan, Neelam and Amol — were taken to the Parliament Street Police Station where they were questioned by the investigators. Special Cell of Delhi Police joined the investigation.
  • Vishal and his wife were also detained by the police from Gurugram.
  • Sagar, Manoranjan, Neelam, and Amol were arrested by the Delhi Police after questioning for hours. A case under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was registered against all of them.
  • The anti-terror unit special cell is probing the security breach and searching to nab Lalit who is still absconding. The four are likely to be produced before a Delhi court late on 14 December.

Also read: 5th suspect nabbed, sources say plan hatched a few days ago

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