Opposition parties on Monday described the suspension of 92 MPs from Parliament in less than a week as a “mockery of democracy”, as they slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre for allegedly violating democratic norms and trying to “bulldoze” important legislation through the House without any debate.

While the Congress alleged an “extreme level of dictatorship” by the government, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the Centre of trying to suppress the voice of the people. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) also criticised the mass suspensions, saying nothing like this has ever happened in the history of Parliament.

The Union government, however, defended its actions and accused the Opposition of “embarrassing” the country with their conduct in Parliament.

In a move that has no precedence, 78 Opposition MPs were suspended from the remaining part of the Winter session earlier in the day after they refused to budge on their demand for a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach last week. While 33 members were suspended from the Lok Sabha, 45 were suspended from the Rajya Sabha.

Monday’s action took the total number of Opposition MPs suspended from both Houses to 92 since last Thursday, when 13 members in the Lower House and one in the Upper House were suspended for similar reasons.

Reacting to the suspensions, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all democratic norms were thrown into the dustbin by the “autocratic” government, which, he said, has shown zero accountability towards Parliament.

“First, intruders attacked Parliament. Then Modi government attacking Parliament and Democracy. All Democratic norms are being thrown into the dustbin by an autocratic Modi Government by suspending 47 MPs,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We have two simple and genuine demands – The Union home minister should make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on the inexcusable breach in the Parliament security and a detailed discussion should be held on the same,” he added.

Kharge, who is also the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give an interview to a newspaper and Shah to TV channels, “but they have zero accountability left to the Parliament – which represents the People of India”. “With an Opposition-less Parliament, the Modi Government can now bulldoze important pending legislations, crush any dissent, without any debate,” he said.

The Congress leader was referring to Modi’s interview to Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and Shah’s address to the Agenda Aaj Tak 2023 conclave last week. Both Modi and Shah had assured of a strict probe into the security breach and had also urged the Opposition to not politicise the matter.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said not only in the Lok Sabha, but there was a “bloodbath in the Rajya Sabha too with 45 INDIA party MPs getting suspended for demanding a statement by the Home Minister on the December 13th security breach, and for demanding that the Leader of the Opposition be allowed to speak”.

“Incidentally, I too figure in this Roll of Honour — for the first time in my parliamentary career of 19 years. This is Murder of Democracy in India(MODI) at work!” he wrote on X.

TMC president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Delhi to attend the INDIA bloc meeting on Tuesday, told reporters that the government can suspend all Opposition MPs in Parliament and then make a “mockery of democracy”.

“Why did they suspend so many MPs? Do you think they won two states so they became so arrogant?” she said, referring to the BJP’s victory in the recent assembly elections in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, which were earlier ruled by the Congress.

“Sougata Ray (TMC’s Lok Sabha MP) is a senior leader of the country. He is among those suspended. Everyone is being suspended… They can suspend one or two MPs for any bad cause. If they collectively suspend people…the House should be suspended,” she added.

She continued: “If they (BJP) have a majority of members, why are they so afraid? They are passing all Bills by voice vote. If they suspend all the members, how can they raise their voice.”

DMK MP TR Baalu said the functioning of the House depends on the behaviour of the BJP. “Today, 33 Lok Sabha MPs have been suspended…The House has to be run peacefully but it depends on the behaviour of the ruling party,” Baalu told news agency ANI.

“Nothing like this has happened in the history of the Indian Parliament. The government’s response is very poor,” he added.

Congress leader K C Venugopal said Parliament has turned into a place for suspensions, not for discussion and debates.

“It appears the government is hell bent on destroying every last shred of democracy in India. Dismissing 47 opposition MPs, including our Lok Sabha Leader @adhirrcinc ji, shows that the BJP wants to finish off the institution of Parliament,” he wrote on X.

“Instead of taking action against the BJP MP who issued the pass to those intruders, the BJP is suspending opposition MPs,” he said, referring to BJP MP Pratap Simha, whose office issued passes to the two people who vaulted into the Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery, and sprayed smoke inside the hallowed chambers last week.

The Janata Dal (United) also criticised the government’s action. “The BJP-led central government is trying to suspend as many MPs as they can, so that more bills can be passed,” JD(U) MP Kaushalendra Kumar, who was among those suspended in the Lower House, said.

Speaking on similar lines, RSP MP NK Premachandran said: “Normally, when there is a deadlock in Parliament, the government calls a meeting of floor leaders. But now, instead of a discussion, mass suspension is taking place. This is not a good practice. They just want to pass the new criminal bills without any discussion.”

Hitting back, Union minister Piyush Goyal accused the Opposition of “insulting” the Lok Sabha speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairperson and “embarrassing” the country with their conduct.

“The rude behaviour of the Congress and its friendly partners of the INDIA alliance in both the Houses of Parliament today, and the manner in which several members brought placards in the House, has embarrassed the entire country. Both the Speaker and the Chairman were insulted today,” he said outside the House.