3 more MPs suspended, taking total number to 146

Three more opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Thursday, taking the total number of suspensions from the Lower House of Parliament to a record 100.

With this, the total number of MPs suspended for unruly behaviour from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha stands at an unprecedented 146 since December 14.

In the Lok Sabha, while 97 MPs were suspended for the remainder of the session, three were removed from the services of the House pending a report of the House Privileges Committee.

Removal from the services of the House is the official term used for suspension.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die (indefinitely) on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.

On Thursday, three Congress MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha for the remainder of the Winter session for unruly behaviour.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion for the suspension of D K Suresh, Deepak Baij and Nakul Nath.

Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had warned the three MPs against protesting in the House.

The opposition had been seeking a statement in the House by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the December 13 security breach, and disrupting proceedings.

On the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and released yellow smoke from canisters they were carrying. They were overpowered by MPs.

The action to suspend opposition MPs drew sharp criticism from the Congress and other parties, which accused the BJP government of trying to bulldoze through key legislations in an 'opposition-less' Parliament.

Separately, Aam Aadmi Party member Sanjay Singh was suspended as a Rajya Sabha member on July 24.

Amid the string of suspensions, a political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen making a video of the performance by Banerjee who appeared to mimic the way Dhankhar walked by leaning forward and made reference to having a spine.

On Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay at the incident.

As Dhankhar said in the House on Wednesday that he would not tolerate any insult to Parliament or the constitutional post of vice president, Banerjee said he did not intend to hurt anyone with his act in the Parliament complex.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed her party colleague, and the Congress slammed what it termed the government's 'desperate attempt' to divert attention from the unprecedented suspension of MPs by raising the matter.