Farm Bills Row: 8 Suspended MPs Continue Sit-In Protest Outside Parliament As Unrest Grows, Ambulance On Standby

All the suspended MPs called for a sit-in protest at Parliament premises on Monday and continued past midnight receiving the support of a large number of opposition leaders.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh offers tea to suspended MPs. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Massive unrest was witnessed in the national capital and across the country on Monday over the newly passed farm bills as protests were conducted in Parliament, outside Rashtrapati Bhavan and even on streets of India. Rajya Sabha chairman has suspended as many as 8 sitting MPs for unruly conduct in the Upper House over the agrarian bills. According to reports, all the suspended MPs called for a sit-in protest at Parliament premises on Monday and continued past midnight receiving the support of a large number of opposition leaders. To show solidarity with their protesting colleagues, senior opposition leaders came in hordes including NC leader Faroukh Abdullah, JD(S)' Deve Gowda, Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan, Congress' Ahmed Patel and NCP's Praful Patel.

Exiting Parliament, stopped by the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue to express solidarity with the eight suspended Rajya Sabha MPs who’re on an all-night vigil. Spoke w/ ⁦@derekobrienmp⁩, ⁦@SATAVRAJEEV⁩ (who spent his birthday here!), E.Kareem & ⁦@manojkjhadu⁩ pic.twitter.com/JkPKsDVX62

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 21, 2020

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sat with the protesting parliamentarians for almost four hours, one of the suspended MPs told news agency PTI as they sang patriotic songs, surrounded by placards hanging on strings with slogans in support of farmers. According to reports, the protesting MPs are carrying not just their beddings with pillows and blankets but mosquito repellents as well to shield themselves from the vectors. Those who were suspended are: Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M). AAP's Sanjay Singh said, "We will continue protesting against the farmer bills until the Modi government provides a rationale behind passing these bills without having the required votes".

Delhi: Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh brought tea for the Rajya Sabha MPs who are protesting at Gandhi statue against their suspension from the House. pic.twitter.com/syT19AxEgD

— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2020

Four of the eight suspended Upper House members had moved resolutions opposing some key bills that appear in the Rajya Sabha List of Business announced for Tuesday. The four MPs are O'Brien, Satav, Kareem and Ragesh. Since they are suspended, their names don't figure in the List. During the day, the protests saw MPs from various parties like Congress, CPI(M), Shiv Sena, JDS, TMC, CPI and the Samajwadi Party joining in. In the evening, many Lok Sabha MPs trickled in to show their support to the suspended MPs who were sitting in protest. It is also worth noting that the sit-in protest by the MPs is being held at a time when around 30 parliamentarians have tested positive for the coronavirus disease. Meanwhile, at least 20 opposition MPs on Monday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to grant assent to the controversial Agriculture Bills, alleging that the way they were passed without any debate was a "murder of democracy".

#WATCH: Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen sings a song in the Parliament premises.

8 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs are protesting at Gandhi statue against their suspension from the House. pic.twitter.com/o1LXmni7Sp — ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2020

The Rajya Sabha witnessed bedlam on Sunday as the government sought to get cleared two of the three contentious farm Bills amid unrelenting opposition protests. O'Brien allegedly tore a rule book while Satav and Sanjay Singh climbed on a table in the House to protest.