New Delhi, August 4: A combative opposition Tuesday protested inside and outside Parliament over the suspension of 25 Congress MPs, with Congress President Sonia Gandhi dubbing Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision a “murder” of democracy. The BJP retorted that there was “no democracy in the Congress DNA.”
Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and vice president Rahul Gandhi joined a noisy protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex — all of them sporting a black band on their arms.
The MPs shouted slogans like “Down with Narendra Modi”, “We want justice” and “Shame on you dictator”. Similar protests also took place in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and some other states.
The suspension brought together Tuesday virtually the entire opposition, with even parties opposed to the Congress boycotting the Lok Sabha in protest against Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s Monday decision.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav echoed the opposition sentiment when he said: “The suspension is not right. It should be taken back. And the MPs should be called back to attend the house.”
Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the Congress would not relent on its demand for the resignation of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
“We will not budge… There will be no let up in our pressure (on the government) as far as issues of corruption, Sushma Swaraj and Vyapam (scandal) are concerned,” he said. IANS
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