Opposition vs government over suspension of 15 MPs amid Lok Sabha security row

Parliament security scare: MP Kapil Sibal said the government should suspend everybody if it didn't want the Opposition.

New Delhi: The Opposition on Thursday slammed the BJP government at the Centre for suspending 15 opposition MPs -- 14 in Lok Sabha, one in Rajya Sabha -- over their demand for a statement by home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday's security breach. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who is among the suspended MPs, accused the government of sparing Pratap Simha but expelling Mahua Moitra "without even the inquiry being complete".

Lok Sabha: The members were accused of “utter disregard to the House and the authority of the Chair” (PTI)

Pratap Simha is the BJP MP whose office gave the intruders access passes to the Lok Sabha.

"There is an MP who has 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," she told ANI.

The DMK MP said the Opposition just wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah to speak in the Parliament over the issue. "How is this democracy?"

JDU MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh said with the suspension the government wanted to hide its failures and scare the Opposition.

"You would have seen their conduct had the two men who entered the Parliament yesterday been Muslims or had it been a Congress MP who issued them passes," he told ANI.

MP Kapil Sibal said the government should suspend everybody if it didn't want the Opposition.

"If they don't need the opposition, they should suspend everybody, because they don't want any questions to be asked. We have been saying that the Home Minister should come and explain the situation; tell the people of this country that we all will be safe and take action against the gentleman who gave these two permission to jump into the House," he told ANI.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said the government wanted to stifle the Opposition's voice.

"Just because we demanded and protested, in order to stifle our voice, about 15 odd MPs have been suspended for the remaining of the session...We want either the Prime Minister or Home Minister to come to the House and give a categorical statement about the events which happened yesterday and the remedial steps that they are going to take for the future," he said.

Two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery on Wednesday and created ruckus before being overpowered by courageous MPs. The Opposition has been demanding a statement from Shah over the security scare.

Amid ruckus inside both the houses of the Parliament, the Lok Sabha Speaker today suspended 14 Opposition MPs – including nine from the Congress – from the house for the remainder of the Winter Session for unruly conduct. TMC MP Derek O'Brien was also suspended from Rajya Sabha.

The Delhi Police have arrested four people over the Lok Sabha security scare.

With input from agencies