Suspension of 146 MPs from Parliament galvanises INDIA bloc

NCP chief Sharat Pawar said the leaders of the INDIA bloc were ready to pay any price to save the democracy. “Today, farmers are going on the path of suicide, the youngsters working in factories are not even getting proper wages. Therefore, we will have to take responsibility and work hard to remove the forces attacking democracy,” he said. “They think they can silence the Opposition by doing this. We are ready to pay any price to save our democracy,” Pawar added. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said opposition members were suspended for demanding answers from Home Minister Amit Shah over the Parliament security breach. “By shunting out 150 MPs from the Parliament, the government has shut out the voice of 60% Indians,” he said. Rahul, once again linked the breach to unemployment — an issue which he feels would strike a chord with the people. Questioning on security breach, “The first question is how did they get inside? How did they bring the gas canisters inside Parliament? They could have brought something else too…The second question is why did they do the protest. The reason is unemployment. There is massive unemployment in the country…the youth of the country are not able to find jobs,” Rahul said. RJD leader Manoj Jha said the government wants an “Opposition-mukt Parliament, resistance-free streets, player-free sports and question-free media. This battle is not just about suspended MPs. When he goes abroad, our Prime Minister proudly proclaims that he is from India, the mother of democracy. Now 150 MPs have been suspended… with what face you will say that you have come from the mother of democracy… The mother is ailing…is in the intensive care unit,” he said. Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja said the government was trying to make Parliament, which represents the sovereign will of the people, redundant. “If you eliminate the Opposition by hook or by crook, you are undermining Parliament, you are making Parliament redundant. If Parliament becomes redundant, democracy dies, democracy is killed. This is what Modi and his government is doing. This is what we call fascism, fascist dictatorship,” he said. Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Sitaram Yechury said the unprecedented suspensions raise questions on whether parliamentary democracy would survive if the BJP returns to power. Referring to the government’s claims about ‘Amrit Kaal’, Yechury said: “They are talking about Amrit Kaal… remember how Amrit was found. According to Vishnu Purana ‘Amrit’ came from the churning of the ocean, but it first fell in the wrong hands. Today, the ‘Amrit’ is in the wrong hands, we have to get it back, and that is our pledge,” he vowed.