‘I don’t know why they should feel scared. They have a big majority, they shouldn’t feel scared.’
‘They should let us speak and then they can always vote however they want to. I have no idea (what’s scaring the government).’
‘It actually baffles me why they should indulge in these kinds of tactics.’
IMAGE: Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament, December 19, 2023. Photograph: Sansad TV
With over 141 Opposition MPs suspended in two days — 49 MPs on December 19 and 78 MPs on December 18 — from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Parliament now resembles a graveyard and India will soon reach a North Korea-kind of situation fears Karti Chidambaram, the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu.
Karti Chidambaram spoke to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com about his suspension, the government’s apparent motive in doing so and how the Opposition now plans to meet the challenge and keep democracy alive.
“The BJP wants an Opposition-less Parliament, where Parliament only functions as a rubber stamp for their diktats,” says Karti Chidambaram.
Why were you suspended? You’ve been one among the 141 MPs, who have been suspended from Parliament. In the light of what happened today, how do you look at Parliamentary democracy in India?
The BJP wants an Opposition-less Parliament, where Parliament only functions as a rubber stamp for their diktats.
Even though they have a brutal majority, they seem to be suffering from some grave insecurity complex. I have no idea why they have to feel insecure.
There has been a criminal trespass into Parliament (because of) intelligence failure and security failure.
All we wanted (the Opposition MPs who were suspended today) was that the home minister (Amit A Shah) come to the floor of the House, take the House into confidence, give a statement on what happened, what are the steps they are taking to avoid such a situation (in the future), and what is the status of the investigation in the presence of the prime minister. But I do not know for what reason they are refusing to do it.
I can only assume it’s their (the prime minister’s and home minister’s) ego which prevents them from coming (to the House) and doing this (making a statement about Parliament breach).
So we’ve been making this demand, and since they don’t want to heed this demand, and we’ve been persistent with it, they have suspended over 140 Members of Parliament. Now Parliament has no Opposition worth its name.
And they are going to bring in bills which will have far reaching consequences, which anyway, they would have passed.
I’m not saying that we would have been able to prevent them (the three bills that plan to overhaul the Indian Penal Code). They would have passed (the three bills), but at least we would have been able to record our dissent and our differences to these bills but that opportunity has been denied to the people of India.
We are fast hurling towards a North Korea-kind of a situation where only the synchronised clapping is missing right now.
Apart from these three bills would the government have plan to legislate any other bill? What kind of legislative work does the government intend to do in the absence of these 141 MPs?
They have introduced bills. They are passing bills today without us. They are passing bills without our voice being heard or our opinions being recorded. They are passing it. This is what they want. They want Parliament to be a stamping house.
They don’t want Parliament to be a House for discussion and debate anymore.
What’s scaring the government?
I don’t know why they should feel scared. They have a big majority, they shouldn’t feel scared.
They should let us speak what we want to speak and then they can always vote however they want to. I have no idea (what’s scaring the government). It actually baffles me why they should indulge in these kinds of tactics.
They could have easily made a statement, easily indulged us by giving a platform to speak and they have the numbers to get anything passed.
Why wouldn’t the prime minister or the home minister make a statement on the floor of the House about last week’s intrusion into the Lok Sabha?
I do not know why they persist in not coming. They (the prime minister and home minister) don’t even come to the House. They have not made a statement. I have no idea. Other than their ego (I don’t see any other reason for their absence).
I see no reason why they would not have paid heed to our request.
What would be the Opposition strategy now?
I’m not equipped to say that. I think most of us have been suspended so we can’t even go to Parliament. So we have to raise our voice elsewhere and bring it to the attention of the nation on what’s happening.
Will the Opposition hit the streets now?
People sometimes view protests differently, but the point is we have to take the message across to the people in many, many ways to keep democracy alive in India. The fact that I’m even speaking to you is a method (of speaking to the people of India).
Maybe we will go, all MPs will go back to our constituencies, we will talk to our party workers; the respective parties will carry the message.
Whether we are going to have an organised mass protest about something or not is something the leadership will decide.
What was the justification for suspending 41 MPs in one single day?
I have no idea. I do not know why I was suspended.
I was neither sloganeering nor was I holding a placard in my hand. I do not know why I was suspended.
Dimple Yadav (Samajwadi Party MP from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh) didn’t even get out of her seat and she’s been suspended.
Mr V Vaithilingam (the Congress MP from Puducherry) was in his seat and he was suspended. So I have no idea.
In fact, they should explain why we have been suspended. I told you, it’s just a mass purge in Parliament. There’s no thought out and there’s no focus on what anybody did, which is unconscionable.
If you singularly ask questions (to MPs), they will not be able to point out why we were suspended.
What makes this government so stubborn?
You’re asking me to read their mind. Maybe they’re insecure.
I don’t know why they have to do that when they have such a big majority. You should ask them, not me.
