Congress MPs’ suspension: 9 parties to boycott House

New Delhi

The suspension of 25 Congress MPs from Lok Sabha has united the opposition with at least nine other parties deciding to boycott House proceedings for next five days, in protest against the action.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Indian Union Muslim League, and Left parties have conveyed their decision to boycott the House for the next five days, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.

“The party is also in talks with the Samajwadi Party over the issue,” he told PTI.

Congress MPs will stage a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Complex tomorrow to protest against the suspension. Members of other parties are likely to join the protest.

“…Sonia Gandhi and Malikarjun Kharge requested us for support. We discussed it with our leader Mamata Banerjee and it was decided to support the Congress over the suspension of 25 Congress MPs. This was necessary for good and healthy parliamentary democracy. We are not attending the session for next five days,” Leader of the TMC parliamentary party Sudeep Bandopadhyay Bandopadhyay said.

NCP’s Tariq Anwar said the action shows BJP veteran L K Advani’s apprehensions that emergency can return could be “coming true as we are moving toward black days”. NCP MP Supriya Sule said suspension of 25 MPs was way too much and that Gandhi would also hold talks with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Aam Aadmi Party too said it will join other opposition parties in boycotting the session for next five days.

Lok Sabha Speaker Mahajan today suspended 25 Congress members for five days for “persistently, wilfully obstructing” the House”. The MPs have been carrying placards and shouting slogans in the Well while pressing for resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over Lalit Modi row and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Vyapam scam.

Inputs from PTI