INDIA bloc gears up for protest against Parliament MP suspensions | Full details
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive at Jantar Mantar at 11 am on Friday to protest the suspension of opposition MPs from Parliament.
The leaders of the Opposition bloc, INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), are scheduled to protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday against the suspension of MPs from the Parliament. Additionally, nationwide protests will take place in all district headquarters, denouncing the government's "immoral and illegal" behaviour, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Kharge said, “The PM should come and speak in the house first. This is really condemnable! We are repeatedly requesting the speaker of the Lok Sabha and the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The members of the ruling party are disturbing the proceedings. This shows that they (the BJP) don't have faith in India's democracy. The constitution and democratic practices should be upheld. Tomorrow, INDIA leaders will protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Throughout the country, opposition leaders will protest against this immoral and illegal behaviour of the BJP government.”
In a recent wave of suspensions that commenced on December 14, three more MPs from Congress – D K Suresh, Deepak Baij, and Nakul Nath – were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Friday due to “unruly behaviour” bringing the tally of suspended MPs to 145.
Schedule of Oppn's rally tomorrow
On Thursday, Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely, announced that Rahul Gandhi, the party leader, would arrive at Jantar Mantar at 11 am on Friday to protest the suspension of opposition MPs from Parliament.
“Tomorrow at 11 am, Rahul Gandhi will be at Jantar Mantar to protest against the suspension of opposition MPs from Parliament. Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and other leaders of the INDIA alliance will address the rally,” he said.
The Congress leader further highlighted the “alarming” number of MPs suspended from Parliament during the ongoing winter session.
Following the protest march on Thursday, the party president Kharge in a post on X wrote, “We, the people of India need to Save Democracy. Passing important legislations by suspending Opposition MPs is not Democracy. It is the worst kind of authoritarianism.”
“Our future generations will not forgive us, if we do not raise our voices against this dictatorship, NOW!” he said.
Kharge mentioned that the protest would take place at their party headquarters in districts nationwide, in addition to the Jantar Mantar demonstration.
Ongoing protests over suspension of MPs
On Thursday, INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk in protest of the suspension of opposition lawmakers. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged violation of parliamentary privilege for not addressing the security breach issue in the House.
The lawmakers carried a large 'Save Democracy' banner and placards reading 'Opposition MPs Suspended,' 'Parliament Caged,' and 'Democracy Expelled' during the march.
Addressing reporters at Vijay Chowk, Kharge stressed the opposition's “right to speak in a democracy”. He said that as representatives of the people, it's the legislators' duty to convey public sentiments in Parliament.
Kharge further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah are not ready to speak in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha while addressing the Parliament security breach issue elsewhere. "We wanted to raise Parliament security breach issue as to why it happened and who is responsible," Kharge said.
The opposition repeatedly requested Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for an opportunity to discuss the security breach, alleging disruptions by ruling party members.
Why were MPs suspended from the Parliament?
Following an incident on December 13 where two individuals breached the Lok Sabha chamber, releasing smoke from canisters, the opposition has continuously disrupted House proceedings. Their demand includes a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah regarding the security breach.
In the ongoing Parliament winter session, a total of 145 MPs –100 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha – have faced suspension due to their involvement in “creating chaos and disrupting proceedings”.