The pepper spray attack by a parliamentarian from Andhra Pradesh and the unprecedented bedlam in the Indian Parliament on Thursday following the tabling of a bill for the creation of Telangana state in Lok Sabha came in for sharp criticism from Indian expats in the Kingdom.

Expressing outrage, Khaleda Siddiqui, a housewife hailing from New Delhi, likened the happenings in the Parliament to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the British occupation. “It was murder of democracy and utter disrespect for the Constitution of India,” she said.

Congress and Telugu Desam Party members went on a rampage breaking table-top glasses and uprooting mikes in the Parliament in protest against the introduction of the bill seeking bifurcation of the state. A total of 16 MPs were suspended by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for indulging in violence and disrupting the proceedings of the House.

Siddiqui, who worked at the Jawaharlal Memorial Library, recalled that Winston Churchill termed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as “an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation.” “The scene created by the MPs in India’s most august house is no less,” she said.

Even children feel let down. “Some of my friends have high opinion and respect for India and Indians,” says Sumna, a young social worker, who studied at the International Indian School in Jeddah and Aligarh Muslim University. “I am embarrassed now. How will I face them after such terribly uncivilized behavior by some of my countrymen. But I am hopeful that good sense will prevail,” she said.

Tasneem Sabri, a housewife from Shahranpur in Uttar Pradesh and a student leader in her university days, said: “It is a shame that those who take oath under the Constitution to preserve its sanctity themselves violate it in the worst form and manner.”

Ironically, L. Rajgopal, the member who used pepper spray in the House, had in 2009 successfully introduced a private member’s bill to tackle disruptions by MPs and had even suggested a mechanism to penalize them.

“If such people who do not follow what they preach, what can one expect from them? Suspension is not going to work. Such people cannot be trusted and should be banned from running for any public office forever,” she said.

“Is this the way to behave for a country that aspires to be a world power,” wondered Mohammed Tahqique, plant manager, Al-Shamrani Factory for Drawbar Trailers. “Irregularities and vulgarities in the Parliament should be strictly dealt with. It is a noble House and its sanctity should be maintained and preserved so that the public realizes that we are a disciplined people,” he said. “Everybody in the world is laughing at the biggest democracy of the world which is being turned into the biggest ‘mockocracy’ of the world.”

Mohammad Tariq Khan, an electrical engineer in Jeddah, said these time-servers are pushing India into anarchy. “If it suits them, they uphold the Constitution and if it does not, they ignore it without any qualms.”

“It is totally wrong, undemocratic and unacceptable. India is a big country with more than 5,000 years of civilization. It should act big. India’s contribution to the world in various spheres is remarkable, and those who do not know it and are unable to uphold it, have no reason to be in public life,” said Omar Khan, a mechanical engineer.