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Led by Sonia Gandhi, Congress MPs sat on a dharna inside Parliament House complex on Tuesday in protest against suspension of its 25 members from Lok Sabha, as the party asserted there will be no let up in its demand for resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders even if all its members are “thrown” out of Parliament.
The Congress president denounced Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s decision as “murder of democracy” while party vice president Rahul Gandhi said the main opposition party will continue to seek the resignation of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
“It is the government’s duty to run the Parliament. Suspension of our MPs is anti-democratic. Democracy is being murdered,” said Sonia, as she raised slogans along with top party leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, A K Antony and Anand Sharma against the Speaker’s decision. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present.
“We will not budge from our stand and there will be no let up in out pressure (on government) as far as issues of corruption, Sushma Swaraj and Vyapam are concerned,” Rahul told reporters.
Hitting out at the government, Rahul said it is not the Congress party that is asking for resignations, it is the people of the country who are asking for resignations.
“Vyapam scam has destroyed future of 1000s in MP. There is clear evidence that Sushmaji has broken the law. Clear evidence that Rajasthan CM (Vasundhara Raje) directly involved financially with Lalit Modi,” he added.
“Down with Narendra Modi. We want justice. Shame on you dictator,” were the slogans shouted by Congress members who sat on a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The members wore black arm bands.
Leaders from the other opposition parties like Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal also joined the Congress MPs in their protest.
The decision by Lok Sabha Speaker is “unlawful”, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, as he asked her to reconsider the suspensions.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party at their parliamentary meet passed a resolution against Congress’s politics of negativity. They also unanimously decided that neither External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj nor Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister will tender resignation.
Photographs: @INC/Twitter
Protests were the order of the day inside Parliament
Agitated over the suspension of 25 of its members in Lok Sabha, an aggressive Congress on Tuesday launched a vociferous protest in Rajya Sabha against the government's "dictatorial" attitude, forcing its adjournment for almost an hour soon after it assembled for the day.
Over two dozen members of the Congress, mostly wearing black arm bands and carrying placards, rushed to the Well of the House raising anti-government slogans as soon as the House met. One of them also waved a black cloth but was sternly asked not to do so by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien.
'Modi teri taanashahi nahi chalegi' (Prime Minister, your dictatorial attitude won't be allowed), 'Chuppi todo, Modiji' (Break your silence, Modi ji) and 'We want justice' were among the slogans the Congress members shouted.
The Congress members also raised their demands relating to the Vyapam and Lalit Modi issues.
Among those seen in the Well of the House were Congress MPs like Arvind Gowda, Madhusudan Mistry, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Pramod Tewari, Raj Babbar, former ministers Renuka Chaudhary, Jairam Ramesh and Kumari Selja.
Kurien sought to bring some order chiding the members for the "height of indiscipline". However, as the Opposition members were not in a mood to relent, Kurien adjourned the House till noon within a few minutes after it had assembled.
The protests came a day after 25 Congress lawmakers were suspended for five days by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for causing disruptions, setting the stage for escalation in confrontation, as nine Opposition parties decided to boycott the Lower House to express solidarity.
Some boycott Lok Sabha, others walk out
In Lok Sabha, a combative Opposition launched a united protest against the suspensio, as members of the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party boycotted the proceedings and those of the Left, Samajwadi Party and the Rashtiya Janata Dal walked out soon after the House met.
As soon as the House met for the day, members from Left parties, SP and RJD wanted to raise some issues but were disallowed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who also rejected their adjournment notices and asked them to raise the issue during Zero Hour.
Soon thereafter when the House took up Question Hour, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav of the RJD raised slogans like 'take back suspension'. He was soon joined by members from the Left and SP.
After shouting slogans from their benches, they staged a walkout. Those who walked out included SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and P Karunakaran of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, leaving the Opposition benches virtually deserted.
The front row of the Opposition benches was completely empty, barring only one seat occupied by AIADMK leader P Venugopal.
Members of the Congress, NCP, JD-U and Trinamool Congress and Muslim League, were not present in the House. All these parties are boycotting the House for the next five days in solidarity with the 25 suspended Congress members.