90% of suspended MPs set to return to House

Ninety percent of the 146 Opposition lawmakers suspended during the tumultuous winter session of Parliament will be eligible to attend the last session, the budget one, before the Lok Sabha polls, but the remaining 10%, or 14 members of Parliament will continue to remain suspended as they face breach of privilege investigations.

- Saubhadra Chatterji, Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The winter session of Parliament saw both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha being prorogued on December 29; that meant the suspension of 132 MPS came to an end as the punitive action against them was valid only for the session.

The acrimonious session that saw a glaring lapse in the security of the heavily fortified building with two intruders jumping into the Lok Sabha with smoke canisters, also set a record in terms of the number (146) of Opposition lawmakers being suspended from the two Houses.

The Opposition has claimed the suspensions were prompted by their continuous demand for answers from the government on the security lapse - and specifically a statement from the Union home minister - but the government has denied the charge and maintained that the suspensions were for disorderly conduct.

Parliament officials pointed out that 14 MPs - 11 from the Rajya Sabha and three from the Lok Sabha - will continue to face suspension and that their participation in the coming budget session remains uncertain.