Suspended Rajya Sabha MPs Launch 50-Hour-Long Protest Inside Parliament Complex

The Opposition MPs have been suspended for the rest of the week for disrupting House proceedings demanding an immediate discussion on price rise and GST rate hike on essential items.

Twenty Opposition MPs, who were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for 'unruly behaviour', started a 50-hour-long protest inside the Parliament complex on Wednesday. The Opposition MPs have been suspended for the rest of the week after they continued to disrupt House proceedings demanding an immediate discussion on price rise and GST rate hike on essential items.

"The MPs are holding the relay protest near the Gandhi Statue and will stay at the site through the night," PTI quoted TMC MP Dola Sen, one of the suspended parliamentarians, as saying.

The 20 MPs include seven from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), six from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one each from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Earlier in the day, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was suspended from Rajya Sabha for tearing a paper and hurling its pieces towards the Chair. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan then moved a motion to suspend Singh from the House for the remainder of the week. The motion was adopted by voice vote.

On Monday, four Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for the rest of the session over continuous disruptions of proceedings by Opposition lawmakers since the beginning of the Monsoon session on July 18.

Meanwhile, sources told ABP News that a delegation of Opposition leaders met Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and demanded that the suspension of the MPs be withdrawn. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan were also present during the meeting.

During the meeting, Venkaiah Naidu categorically said that the suspension of the MPs won't be withdrawn unless they apologise.

The Opposition delegation included Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal of Congress, Ram Gopal Yadav of SP, TMC's Derek O' Brien, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, CPM's Elamaram Kareem, CPI's Binoy Viswam, TRS' Suresh Reddy and MDMK's Vaiko.

(With inputs from Ankit Kumar)