The Opposition parties staged a km-long march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk to flag what they called the “illegal” suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members who have been staging a sit-in at the Gandhi statue in Parliament for the last 14 days.
All Opposition parties - the Congress, Shiv Sena, DMK, RJD, IUML, CPI(M) and the CPI participated in the march. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) joined it with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at lead. But within the House, they drifted away. The 12 MPs led the march.
At a meeting in the morning, the Opposition decided against participating in the House. The TMC has been skipping all the meetings because it does not want to be seen as a part of Congress-led Opposition. Going against the Opposition consensus, its Chief Whip Sukendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haq spoke during the Zero Hour, where the members get an opportunity to raise issues of national importance. Further exposing the faultlines, TMC House leader Derek O’ Brien, tweeted: “Amused. Some political parties have the ability to come up with genuine IDEAS for protest inside and outside #Parliament. Some political parties then try so hard to own (and appropriate) those ideas.Truly amusing.”
Chairman’s plea
The Zero Hour was conducted amidst vociferous protests by the Opposition. House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu pleaded in vain for the Opposition to maintain order. He said members of both sides have to follow the rules. The House was adjourned at 12.00 noon till 2.00 p.m.
At 12:30 p.m., at the Gandhi statue in Parliament, all Opposition leaders from both the Houses congregated, including Mr. Gandhi. Carrying placards proclaiming that they too should be suspended if the suspension of the 12 can’t be revoked, the leaders marched to Vijay Chowk. TMC MPs Sugata Roy, Mausam Noor, Shantanu Sen and suspended MP Dola Sen among others participated in the march.
Speaking to the media at Vijay Chowk, Mr. Gandhi, pointing at the suspended MPs, said, “They are the symbol of the democracy of this country. They are the symbol of the crushing of the voice of the people of India. They have been suspended now for two weeks. They are sitting outside. Their voices have been crushed. They have done nothing wrong.” He also complained that the Opposition was not allowed to discuss important issues in Parliament. “Bill after bill, bill after bill is just passed in the din. This is not the way to run Parliament. The Prime Minister doesn’t come to the House, and any time we want to raise an issue of national importance, we are just not allowed to do so. Democracy is being killed,” he alleged.
Government stand
The government refuses to relent in face of the protests. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “I call upon the Congress members, the other Opposition members to express regret and come to the House," .
Though the Opposition parties managed to take their protest outside the parliamentary premises, within the House, their limited numbers are affecting the protest. In the post-lunch session, there were only around 31 Opposition MPs, with each Opposition party missing many of its members. Together, they could not raise enough voice to stall the session and staged a walkout.
