NEW DELHI: Members of opposition parties held protests in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside Parliament premises on Tuesday against the suspension of 92 MPs for the remainder of the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
Led by Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, the protesters carried playcards, reading, "Democracy under siege, We wouldn't be caged," and "Why PM and HM are silent.".
Speaking to ANI on the issue, Kharge told ANI, "This is not good for democracy." The Congress chief said several MPs have tried to put forward their opinions so far in Parliament.
"But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did not want to show up in the House. They are delivering lectures in Varanasi and Ahmedabad amid the ongoing session of the Parliament," he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, "The way MPs are being suspended, it seems they (the ruling party) look at the opposition as a non-entity." Suspended opposition MPs also held protests against the government at Parliament's Makar Dwar on Tuesday.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also joined the protests. A total of 78 MPs -- 33 from Lok Sabha and 45 from Rajya Sabha -- were suspended on Monday, following a ruckus over the demand by the Opposition for a statement from Shah on the December 13 incident.
The suspensions, combined with the 13 members removed earlier, were the largest in the history of the Indian Parliament. While 34 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including Congress' Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala were suspended for the remainder of the 'Winter Session', the 'misconduct' of 11 others was also referred to the Privileges Committee, which has been asked to give its report in three months. The members will remain suspended till a report is submitted by the panel.
The reason for the suspension of opposition MPs for the rest of the Winter Session was cited as'misconduct' and failure to adhere to the directions of the Chair. The ongoing winter session of Parliament will conclude on December 22, Friday.