It’s voices of 1.85 crore Indian voters, largely from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, that’s stifled in Lok Sabha

Opposition parties have been demanding a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the serious breach of security in the new Parliament House that put the lives of MPs, Speaker, ministers, Lok Sabha staff, and visitors at potential risk.

Also read: MPs suspended for protesting Parliament security breach

Suspension of the members

While suspension or any action against a member of the House is the prerogative of the Speaker, the move is often resorted to after great and detailed consideration. Suspension of a member means cancelling out the entire electorate she or he represents from parliamentary processes.

Caught between the politicking in this instance are 1.85 crore Indian voters who have been rendered voiceless and without representation in the Lok Sabha following the suspension of their elected representatives. A majority of these MPs are from the Southern States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

What is the repercussion when an MP is suspended for the voters who elected them? Let us put this in the context of numbers.

Also Read: Lok Sabha intruder’s father says Manoranjan ‘a big fan of PM’

1.85 crore voters

Out of the suspended MPs from Kerala—all from Congress, N Prathapan, MP from Thrissur represents 13,37,110 electors. Hibi Eden, MP of Ernakulam is the representative of 12,45,972 voters. Ramya Haridas of Alathur is the MP for 12,66,794 voters. Dean Kuriakose represents 12,04,191 voters of Idukki. Benny Behanan is the MP from Chalakudy representing 12,30,197 and VK Sreekandan represents 13,23,010 voters of Palakkad.

Out of the suspended MPs from Tamil Nadu, Jothimani Sennimalai, MP from Karur in Tamil Nadu represents 13,87,286 voters. Manickam Tagore represents 14,84,256 voters from Virudhunagar. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi represents 14,27,783 voters of Thoothukudi.

CPI(M) MP PR Natarajan represents 19,58,904 voters of Coimbatore. S Venkatesan is an elected representative of 15,39,026 voters of Madurai. CPI MP K Subbarayan from Tiruppur is the representative of 15,30,014 electors.

The only MP who isn’t from a southern State among those suspended on Thursday is Mohammed Jawed from Kishanganj, Bihar who represents 16,59,651 voters.

People’s representatives

MPs are elected to represent the interests of their constituents, seek answers on their behalf, demand legislation and amendments in their interests and vote on bills as their representative. At least on paper, the MP is supposed to represent the larger interest of her or his constituents and become their voice in the democratic process of parliamentary procedures.

In effect, the Lok Sabha has stifled the voices of 1,85,94,194 Indian voters by suspending their representatives in the House for the rest of the session. An overwhelming majority of these Indian voters are from the two States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

SR Parthiban, MP from Salem who is the representative of 16,12,512 voters was also suspended on Thursday despite being absent from the House. His suspension was revoked after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed he was “mistakenly” suspended.

This isn’t the first time that MPs have been suspended in large numbers by the Lok Sabha Speaker or Rajya Sabha’s Chairman. In July last year, 24 MPs—from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha—were suspended on the same grounds of “unruly behaviour”. 16 out of the 24 MPs were from three Southern States of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Also Read: 24 MPs suspended in Parliament, 16 from three Southern States 

Skewed representation of the South

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha already have a skewered representation from Southern States. MPs from all the five southern states — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana — put together make up less than 25 percent of both houses of Parliament.

Out of Kerala’s 20 MPs, 6 have been suspended by the Speaker for the rest of the session. Out of Tamil Nadu’s 39 MPs, 6 have been suspended effectively reducing the number of MPs from the South – especially from Opposition parties. The reduced numbers in the House make way for more unilateral decisions in favour of a government with a brute majority.

The impact isn’t limited only to proceedings in the House.

Also Read: Key conspirator arrested; 4 accused charged under UAPA

Not limited to proceedings

A circular issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat cited Rule 374 of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and note XXIII of the Manual on Business and Procedure to list out activities that suspended members are prohibited from.

Suspended members cannot enter the Chamber, Lobby or Galleries— including the visitors’ gallery that the two intruders— D Manoranjan and Sagar Sharma— jumped from, breaching Parliament security and setting off smoke canisters.

Suspended members cannot be part of Parliamentary Committee meetings. No item will be put in the List of Business in their name. No notice tabled by them is acceptable during the period of their suspension. They cannot vote at elections to committees held during the period of their suspension. They are not entitled to daily allowance during suspension.

In short, the MPs cannot do anything that they have been elected by their electorate to do in the Lok Sabha. It is for this reason that suspension is deemed, in Parliament and State assemblies, as a final resort in rare instances of extremely disruptive actions.

In recent times, however, the suspension of Opposition MPs, especially during demands for discussion on serious matters, has become a continuing and worrisome trend. When an MP is suspended, it isn’t action against one person but stifling of the voices of an entire electorate that has directly voted for their representative.