Two-thirds of opposition MPs have been suspended in recent days in India, just a few months before the elections. They suspect the majority of trying to liquidate dissenting voices.
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This week in India, more than 140 deputies were excluded from Parliament, a few months before the elections. A disciplinary sanction according to the Hindu nationalists in power, who now completely dominate Parliament. The opposition denounces “the murder of democracy.”
The crisis began to brew on December 13. Two individuals manage to break into the highly secure Parliament that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently had built. Inside, they diffuse a colored gas, before being stopped. They will explain that their action aimed to denounce the government’s indifference to unemployment.
Crucial laws passed this week
The gas is harmless but the security breach remains worrying and the images are making the rounds in the media. And when the opposition discovers that the intruders used the pass of a BJP MP, the Hindu nationalist party of Narendra Modi, it demands explanations from the Minister of the Interior. Some deputies brandish signs and the tone rises in the parliamentary enclosure.
No less is needed from the Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament who is also Vice President of India. Denouncing unacceptable behavior, he suspended 70 deputies, then 70 others who protested; today there are 143 deputies excluded from both houses of the Indian Parliament. This represents two-thirds of the Indian opposition, which is already in the minority.
This is how crucial laws on the budget, telecommunications and security were approved by parliament this week, without the opposition being able to seriously challenge them. There is uncertainty because we do not know exactly when and how these deputies will be reinstated. All this as the major Indian elections, where Narendra Modi will seek a third term, arrive in the spring.
The opposition’s reaction
For all the opponents and most of the country’s major daily newspapers, this is an unprecedented and disproportionate decision given the alleged facts. Karti Chidambaram, from the Congress party, judges that this is a pretext to liquidate dissenting voices: “I was suspended when I wasn’t even holding a sign, and I’m not the only one. The government is purging Parliament of all opposition voices to push through its reforms without even a symbolic contradiction.”
“It looks like North Korea. The only thing still missing is synchronized clapping!”
Karti Chidambaram, opposition MPat franceinfo
The opposition has already announced national demonstrations, their success will give an idea of the mood of Indian public opinion. The different parties even managed to agree on a possible candidate against Narendra Modi. For many opponents, these are the last chance elections. The Prime Minister, given the victory, is accused of putting his hands on the country’s democratic institutions and this episode sounds like a warning.