‘Important bills coming up’ — 141 Oppn MPs suspended, Modi urges BJP MPs to attend Parliament

Modi’s comments at the BJP parliamentary board meeting came amid an unprecedented crackdown in both Houses, which saw the suspension of as many as 141 MPs in the past week for ‘causing disruption

The government has dismissed calls for a debate, saying a detailed investigation into the breach would suffice.

“Some of the bills to be taken up are of great importance. We should listen to the discussion on them. It would have been good if the Opposition also participated in the debates. But perhaps good deeds are not in their fortune,” Modi was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. He accused the Opposition of “indirectly supporting” the breach, adding this was “worrisome”

Meanwhile, opposition leaders called the en masse suspension of opposition MPs “dictatorial” and “autocratic”. As ThePrint reported earlier, this is the highest number of MPs to be suspended in a single session in Parliament’s history

The Congress said “a complete purge was being executed” so that “draconian laws” could be passed without meaningful debate. “This will turn the country into a police state,” Congress MP Manish Tewari said