INDIA bloc leaders brace for nationwide protest against bulk suspension of opposition MPs

NEW DELHI: Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc are scheduled to hold a protest against the suspension of 146 opposition MPs here in the national capital on Friday. The Members of Parliament, suspended from the Parliament's Winter Session, which was adjourned sine die on Thursday, will protest at the Jantar Mantar at 11 am.

Also, a nationwide protest has also been scheduled at all district headquarters by the Congress Party today. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who was among the suspended lawmakers, on Thursday said that the Friday protest of the INDIA bloc will be staged in all the states.

"It's appropriate to protest and all of us will be at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The INDIA alliance protest will happen everywhere tomorrow (Friday) morning in all the states because we want to show the public that if they'd run Parliament like this and won't listen to the opposition then they are ruining the democracy," he had said. Aam Aadmi Party MPs including ND Gupta, Sandeep Pathak, Sant Balbir Seecehwal, and Sanjeev Arora will join the INDIA bloc protest today.

A total of 146 MPs -- 100 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha -- are currently suspended so far for creating a ruckus and disrupting proceedings in both Houses, while they were demanding a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah about the Parliament security breach incident. Earlier on Thursday, after the conclusion of the 262nd Session of the Rajya Sabha, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he is pained to state that nearly 22 hours of the Upper House were lost due to avoidable disruptions.

"I am pained to state that nearly 22 hours were lost due to avoidable disruptions adversely impacting our overall productivity that finally stood at 79 percent. Weaponizing disruptions and disturbance as a political strategy doesn't resonate with our constitutional obligation of keeping the interest of people at large above any other political considerations," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said. Earlier on Thursday, while the proceedings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were underway, the suspended MPs took out a march from the Parliament building to Vijay Chowk to protest against the bulk suspension of opposition lawmakers.

Taking part in the protest march, John Brittas of CPI(M), said, the Centre should now amend the Constitution to say that India is a monarchy. "We are protesting against the brutal killing of the democracy; the democracy has been massacred. You could see the Union Home Minister unilaterally; this is Opposition-Mukt Parliament. They (the Centre) should now amend the Constitution to say that India is a monarchy," he said while speaking to ANI.