The Opposition held a protest in Parliament accusing the government of weaponising parliamentary privilege. In this session, investigations were opened against five MPs — two from the Lok Sabha and three from the Rajya Sabha.
Leading the protest, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the Constitution was being shredded to pieces as the BJP government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, did not want to run the Parliament according to the Constitution.
Talking to reporters in front of the statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, surrounded by other INDIA bloc members, Mr. Kharge said, “All rules and regulations were being set aside and the government was trying to threaten and intimidate every Opposition MP and even suspend them.” Referring to Congress’s Lok Sabha floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s suspension, Mr. Kharge said it was perhaps for the first time that a member was suspended and the matter was referred to the Privileges Committee afterwards. Mr. Chowdhury’s suspension, he said, was aimed at disabling him from participating in various parliamentary committees he is part of, including the Public Accounts Committee that he heads.
