Sonia, Rahul lead Congress protest against suspension of lawmakers
The Congress is boycotting the Lok Sabha for five days starting Tuesday in protest.
On Monday, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ordered suspension of 25 Congress lawmakers for five days for "persistently, wilfully obstructing" the House that has been in logjam for ten successive days following a bitter standoff between the Treasury and Opposition benches.
This is the first time that so many MPs have faced disciplinary action together.
The Congress has 44 members in the Lok Sabha. The party gets support in its protest from other opposition parties like the Aam Aadmi Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress and the Left.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi said after the Speaker ordered the suspension, "It is a dark day for democracy."
The Congress is expected to harden its stand in what could lead to a bigger political stalemate.
The Congress-led opposition has been unrelenting in their demand for the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for their alleged help to disgraced cricket tycoon Lalit Modi and that of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for Vyapam scam.
As the BJP has also taken a tough stand against the opposition pressure the whole situation has led to a total deadlock in parliamentary business.
The government needs to push through in the current monsoon session several key bills pertaining to its avowed reforms.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
