In a surprising move, 78 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament on Monday, which is the highest number of suspensions in a day. This has led to a strong reaction from the Congress and other parties that have accused the BJP government of trying to bulldoze legislation in a Parliament that doesn’t have any opposition.

The suspension comes as both houses of parliament have seen repeated adjournment amid calls from MPs for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in parliament which took place on December 13, where two men jumped from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha Hall, and opened smoke canisters.

Earlier on Monday, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla commented that a high-level probe is already looking into the security breach, and some of the suggestions presented by the opposition MPs have been implemented while others are already being looked at.
However, the opposition members were bent on a response from Shah and his resignation. Some opposition MPs even carried placards with their demands written on them. Birla objected to the placards brought into Lok Sabha, saying it lowers the dignity of the House.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi also appealed to opposition MPs not to wave placards, saying it was agreed at the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee not to carry placards.
The opposition MPs decided to ignore the appeals of Birla and Joshi and continued their protest, which led to the suspension of 33 members.

The Rajya Sabha also saw similar action. While 34 MPS were suspended from the remainder of the Winter season, 11 were asked to stay from the House pending an inquiry report on their conduct by the Committee of Privileges. The members were suspended after the House adopted a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal for the suspension of 34 MPs for the remainder of the session and another one for referring cases of conduct of 11 MPs to the privileges committee.