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Congress continues aggressive protest

BJP members Shatrughan Sinha and Hukum Singh want suspension of MPs revoked
Last Updated 05 August 2015, 20:07 IST

The Congress continued with its aggression on Wednesday by just not boycotting the Lok Sabha proceedings but also taking to the streets to protest against Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s decision to suspend 25 of its MPs on Monday for five days.

Buoyed by the support from other opposition parties, party president Sonia Gandhi said the protests outside the Parliament would continue.

Leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Left partis like the CPI and CPM and others joined the Congress near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the parliament premises. The Trinamool Congress has already announced boycott of the Lok Sabha till Friday as a mark of solidarity with Congress.

The Congress also received support from unexpected quarters as BJP members Shatrughan Sinha and Hukum Singh made a strong pitch for revocation of suspension of the Congress members. “I’m unhappy about the developments in Parliament and the suspension of 25 learned MP friends, including one who was not even present,” Sinha tweeted.

Cong protest to continue

Asked about the reported move by the government for revocation of the suspension, Gandhi said she was not aware of any such proposal.“We will continue the agitation tomorrow (Thursday),” Gandhi told reporters. Her deputy Rahul Gandhi said the Congress disliked the Speaker’s decision to suspend Congress members, “but we respect her position”.

Congress members in the Rajya Sabha also protested the suspension of the Lok Sabha MPs. The Congress members raised slogans in the Well of the Rajya Sabha and forced repeated adjournments. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House for the day at 2 pm.

Though Congress members refrained from attacking the Speaker directly, its youth wing carried out a protest march towards her residence on Wednesday morning. Youth Congress members, led by their president Amarinder Singh Raja, raised slogans against the suspension and termed it as an “insult to democracy”.

Raja alleged that despite occupying a constitutional post, Mahajan was acting in a partisan manner. He alleged that the decision to suspend Congress members was taken under the pressure from the BJP, which is leading the NDA government at the Centre.

“The suspension should be revoked and the prime minister should speak on this issue,” Youth Congress leader Amrish Ranjan Pandey said.

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(Published 05 August 2015, 20:07 IST)

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