Congress protests suspension of MPs

Congress President Sonia Gandhi shout slogans during a sit-in protest in New Delhi yesterday. Photo: AFP

India's Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi yesterday led a protest by their party lawmakers against the suspension of 25 MPs for disrupting proceedings in the House.

The mother-son duo launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led government, accusing it of “murdering” democracy.

Wearing black arm bands, raising black flags and shouting slogans against the government, senior Congress leaders, including former PM Manmohan Singh, joined the demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the Parliament House.

Addressing the demonstrators, Sonia said, “The way our lawmakers were suspended was anti-democratic: It is the duty of the government to run Parliament: This is nothing but murder of democracy.”

Rahul Gandhi said there would be no let-up in Congress' protests that have disrupted Parliament, till its demand for the resignation of three top BJP leaders, including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, is met.

Congress has demanded the resignation of Swaraj for allegedly having helped controversial former cricket magnate Lalit Modi, a charge she denied.

Congress-led Opposition has not let Parliament function for a single day in the ongoing monsoon session which began late last month pressing for resignation of the three.

Lok Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's suspension of 25 Congress MPs came after repeated warnings to them not to carry placards to the House.

Congress will be boycotting the Lok Sabha for five days that its members have been suspended. Congress, which has 44 members in the Lok Sabha, has found support from other parties like Aam Aadmi Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress and the Left.