New Delhi [India], December 14 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs as the “symbol of the crushing of the voice of people of India” and said that the Opposition is not allowed to raise any issue of national importance in the Parliament.
Speaking to the media at the Vijay Chowk, the Wayanad MP said, “Suspension of 12 MPs is a symbol of the crushing of the voice of people of India. Their voices have been crushed. They have done nothing wrong. We are not allowed to discuss important issues in Parliament.”
“Bill after Bill is being passed in Parliament in the din. This is not the way to run the Parliament. The Prime Minister doesn’t come to House. We are not allowed to raise any issue of national importance. It is the unfortunate killing of democracy,” he said.
The Congress leader further called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rajya Sabha Chairman “just implementors” of a power that wants to steal farmers’ income. “A minister killed farmers. The Prime Minister is aware of it. Truth is that 2-3 capitalists are against farmers… These MPs were not suspended by the Rajya Sabha chairman or the Prime Minister but by the power that wants to steal farmers’ income. The Prime Minister and the chairman are just implementors,” he added.
The Opposition leaders in both the Houses held a march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk demanding to revoke the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs. Meanwhile, The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm on Tuesday as the Opposition parties disrupted proceedings of the House seeking revocation of suspension of 12 MPs from the House. The Upper House has witnessed continuous adjournment since the first day of the ongoing Winter Session over the suspension of the 12 members.
The winter session of Parliament began on November 29 and will continue till December 23.
Opposition MPs hold protest march from Parliament demanding to revoke suspension of 12 RS MPs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined the Opposition’s protest against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs at the Gandhi Statue on Parliament premises in Delhi on Tuesday, following which Opposition MPs held a march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk demanding to revoke the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs.
The joint march by the Opposition parties is also being held to protest against high inflation, unemployment, forcing legislations without discussions while demanding compensation to the farmers who lost their lives during the year-long agitation and revocation of suspension of 12 RS MPs.
The proposal of conducting the march was accepted at the meeting of the floor leaders of Opposition parties in both the Houses of Parliament, which was held earlier in the day, at the office of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Upper House has witnessed continuous adjournment since the first day of the ongoing Winter Session over the suspension of the 12 members.
The suspended members comprise six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from CPI and CPM: Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain, and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and, Binoy Viswam of CPI.
The members were suspended for alleged unruly conduct towards the end of the monsoon session in August when marshals were called after Opposition members stormed the Well of the House during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.
The suspended MPs have been protesting at the Gandhi statue in the premises of the Parliament since the first day of their suspension. The winter session of Parliament began on November 29 and will continue till December 23. (ANI)
Govt not letting Rajya Sabha Chairman bring back suspended MPs: Mallikarjun Kharge
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday requested the Chairman of the House, M. Venkaiah Naidu to bring back the 12 suspended MPs, and alleged that the government is “not letting” the latter do so.
Speaking to ANI, Kharge said, “The (Rajya Sabha) chairman has full powers to suspend any rule, issue direction, or revoke it but the government is not letting him do it.”
“I request the chairman to use his powers to bring back these 12 (suspended) MPs to the House,” he added.
Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi (Kashi), Kharge said that he is doing politics to collect votes.
“They are staging a drama; until people don’t under their drama, they will continue doing it. The government doesn’t do anything from the heart; their one and only agenda is to collect votes,” he said while adding that they (BJP) are trying to polarise the votes. (ANI)
