INDI Alliance Leaders Stage Protest At Jantar Mantar Over Suspension Of Opposition MPs From Parliament

On Friday, the leaders of the INDI Alliance staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, under the slogan 'Save Democracy'.

Prominent opposition leaders such as Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi from the Congress, Sitaram Yechury from CPI-M, among others, united to demonstrate against the recent suspension of 146 opposition MPs from the Winter Session of Parliament.

The session was adjourned indefinitely on Thursday.

Sharad Pawar, the NCP Supremo, declared that the opposition is prepared to bear any cost to preserve democracy.

Participating in the demonstration, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed that the purpose of the protest is to communicate to the public that the current events are detrimental to the country's future.

Congress MP Manish Tewari said that to protect the nation's democracy, it is vital for all nationalistic entities to unite and convey a unified message.

The parliamentarians, who were suspended from the Winter Session of Parliament, also attended the protest.

Additionally, the Congress party has arranged a nationwide protest to take place at all district headquarters today.

In total, 146 Members of Parliament, comprising 100 from the Lok Sabha and 46 from the Rajya Sabha, were suspended due to their disruptive behavior and causing chaos in both Houses.

Their demand was to hear a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah regarding an incident of a security breach in the Parliament.

After the conclusion of the Rajya Sabha's 262nd session on Thursday, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his distress, stating that almost 22 hours of the Rajya Sabha's time were wasted due to unnecessary 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.