Action against BJP MP Pratap Simha in relation to the security breach incident was demanded by a number of opposition parliamentarians during a protest on Friday in front of the Gandhi Statue on Parliament grounds. It read, “Nation wants to know why no action is taken against BJP MP Simha,” on placards that opposition members were waving. Some signs said, “Democracy under siege” and “Why PM and HM are silent.” At the demonstration were Manickam Tagore, a suspended Congress MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, and a number of other opposition lawmakers.
MP Simha faces opposition scrutiny over allegations of providing Parliament passes to individuals responsible for triggering panic in the Lok Sabha with smoke canisters.
Earlier, 14 MPs were suspended on Thursday. but later, Pralhad Joshi clarified that one member was mistakenly included in the list of MPs suspended.
Following his clarification, a formal request was made to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to exclude one member, who wasn’t present at the Well of the Lower House during the disruption, from the list of suspended MPs.
As a result, the number of lawmakers suspended was changed from 14 Lok Sabha MPs to 13, as was previously incorrectly stated. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved the motion to suspend nine opposition MPs: Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan, Mohammad Jawed, PR Natarajan, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, K Subrahmanyam, SR Parthiban, S Venkatesan, and Manickam Tagore. Members of the opposition are demonstrating against the security breach incident at Parliament and have called for Home Minister Amit Shah to address both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.