Undemocratic: Stalin slams 15 Oppn MPs' suspension from Parl

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin slammed the Centre's move to suspend fifteen Opposition MPs from the Parliament as "undemocratic" and stated that the decision undermines the spirit of Parliamentary democracy.

The CM took to his official X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "Suspension of 15 Opposition MPs, including DMK MP @KanimozhiDMK is undemocratic and undermines the spirit of Parliamentary democracy. The intolerant attitude of the BJP-led Union Govt is condemnable." (sic)

Stalin questioned whether the BJP-led Union government's new norm is to "crush" MPs' freedom of expression in the Parliament.

"Is crushing MPs' freedom of expression the new norm in our Parliament? Why are people's representatives punished for seeking answers on a major security breach in our temple of democracy?," he wrote.

The CM further demanded the immediate revocation of the 15 MPs' suspension and said that Parliament must be a forum for debate and not for "silencing" the Opposition.

Earlier, Fifteen MPs from the Opposition were suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the Winter Session for "unruly conduct" as they demanded a discussion on the security breach in the Lok Sabha which took place on December 13 (Wednesday).

Fourteen of those suspended were from the Lok Sabha and Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien from the Rajya Sabha.