Will boycott Rajya Sabha till MPs' suspension revoked: Opposition

Rajya Sabha

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday declared in the Rajya Sabha that the opposition will boycott the proceedings of the Upper House till the suspension of eight members is revoked.

Speaking after the Zero Hour, Azad said, "Till our demands are met which include revocation of suspension of the eight MPs and the government bringing in another bill under which no private player can purchase below MSP, the Opposition will boycott the session."

"No one is happy with the incidents that have taken place in this House. The public wants that their leaders should be heard. No one can put across their views in just 2-3 minutes. There will be de-escalation if MPs are not constrained by time to speak," added Azad.

The eight suspended lawmakers are Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen of Trinamool Congress, Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora, and Syed Naseer Hussain of Congress, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party and K.K. Ragesh and E. Kareem of Communist Party of India-Marxist.

Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav apologised on behalf of the suspended members for their conduct, and demanded immediate revocation of the suspension but added that there have been fault from both sides.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkiah Naidu said this was not the first time that a suspension has taken place "but I was convinced with the motion of the Minister". He also said that there was certain procedure to remove the Deputy Chairman which was not in proper format.

He also defended the Deputy Chairman and said that chair should not be blamed.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh has announced that he will observe one day fast in protest of the unruly behaviour exhibited by the members on Sunday.

The development comes after the Deputy Chairman served tea to the agitating MPs who have been suspended for misbehaving with him during the passing of the Farm Bills.

The Deputy Chairman in his letter to the Chairman said that there was violent behaviour in name of democracy and chair was threatened. He said he will fast while performing his duties.

The MPs are on sit in protest since Monday and have spend the entire night in Parliament premises.

The eight suspended Rajya Sabha members have been camping near the Gandhi statue singing on the grass in the high security zone, protesting their suspension after Sunday's unprecedented ruckus inside the upper house.

Asked when the protest will end, the MPs said it depends on when their suspension will be revoked. On Monday morning, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu suspended the eight, minutes after the House met.

(with inputs from agency)

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