Opposition MPs March From Parliament To Vijay Chowk Over Mass Suspensions

New Delhi: Opposition MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, led by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge took out a protest march on Thursday morning from the old Parliament building to Vijay Chowk in central Delhi. They were carrying a large banner that read “Save Democracy”, and placards reading “Opposition MPs Suspended! Is This The End of Democracy?” and “Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!”

Notably, over 140 MPs were suspended from Parliament for “unruly conduct”. The expulsions followed a clash with parliamentary authorities over demands the government answer for last week’s security breach.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were called on to make formal statements but declined, citing national security concerns. They did, though, speak to the media.

“We wanted to raise Parliament security breach issue… why it happened and who is responsible. We are repeatedly requesting Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Chairman to allow us to speak on security breach,” Kharge told reporters.

“PM Modi, Home Minister should have spoken in the House on security breach… (but) PM spoke elsewhere and did not turn up in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha,” the veteran Congress leader said.