Suspended Opposition MPs hold overnight protest at Parliament premises
Twenty-four Opposition MPs have been suspended during the ongoing Monsoon Session for carrying placards and disrupting proceedings of the House.
Opposition MPs who have been suspended from the House held overnight protests at Parliament premises on Wednesday, NDTV reported. They are holding a 50-hour sit-in demonstration against their suspension.
Twenty-four Opposition MPs have been suspended from Parliament for carrying placards and disrupting House proceedings so far.
On Monday, four Congress Lok Sabha MPs were suspended for the entire Monsoon Session for carrying placards while protesting inside the House.
A day later, 19 Opposition MPs were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the week for repeatedly disrupting the House proceedings. On Wednesday, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the week for showing “unruly behaviour” in the House.
The Opposition has been staging protests since the Monsoon Session started on July 18, demanding discussion on inflation and tax increases on several goods and services.
Manickam Tagore, one of the four Congress MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha, pledged solidarity to those who have been barred from attending proceedings in the Rajya Sabha.
“We are fighting the [Narendra] Modi - [Amit] Shah onslaught on democracy and it is clear that the Modi regime will be seen as a black spot in Indian history,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Union government said that it would consider revoking the suspension of four Congress Lok Sabha MPs if the Opposition parties assure that their members will not show placards and enter the Well of the House.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Centre was ready to hold a debate on price rise.
“The government has been ready for a discussion from day one,” Joshi told the Lok Sabha, according to The Indian Express. “We are ready today as well. But will they guarantee that they will not troop into the well, holding up placards? Placards are even put up on the face of the Speaker.”