Opposition demands Union minister Ajay Mishra’s removal, protests against suspension of MPs
The politicians staged a km-long march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk.
Opposition leaders on Tuesday held a protest march demanding action against Union minister Ajay Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and called for suspension of 12 MPs from Parliament to be withdrawn, reported PTI.
The politicians marched from the Gandhi statue in Parliament to Vijay Chowk demanding the minister’s suspension. “We will not spare him [Ajay Mishra] today or tomorrow, he will be sent to jail,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, according to ANI.
Four farmers were among the eight people who were killed in the district in Uttar Pradesh in October during a protest against the agricultural laws. Farmer bodies have alleged that a vehicle belonging to Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, had run over protestors. Ashish Mishra has been arrested in the case.
Gandhi said that the Opposition parties were united in their efforts to bring those responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri violence to justice. “Everyone knows whose son he was and the defence is understandable, but this individual will be brought to justice,” the Congress leader added.
The former Congress chief said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had apologised to farmers on the agriculture laws but he had not taken action against the minister involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
“We will not accept what is being done against farmers,” Gandhi said, according to PTI.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Opposition parties held a meeting in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and discussed their strategy.
Protest against suspension of Opposition MPs
The other reason for the protests is the suspension of the 12 Opposition MPs, which has led to a tumultuous Winter Session that saw multiple disruptions.
The five Opposition parties, whose MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha on November 29, skipped a meeting with the Centre on Monday to discuss the stalemate in Parliament.
The suspended MPs are Elamaram Kareem of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress’ Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, R Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Communist Party of India’s Binoy Viswam, Trinamool Congress’ Dola Sen and Shanta Chhetri, and Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and Anil Desai.
They were suspended for allegedly being unruly and violent during the Monsoon Session in August. The session was marked by disruptions in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha because of the Pegasus spyware row and the farm laws.
Fifteen Opposition parties have been protesting against the suspension for the last two weeks and have now intensified their agitation.