"Parliament caged, democracy expelled!"

The protesting opposition members of parliament carried placards “Parliament Caged, Democracy Expelled!”

Among others who participated in the meeting included Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram, Shashi Tharoor and others

Speaking to reporters Tharoor said with the suspension of so many opposition MPs, the history of parliamentary democracy has been "besmirched" in our country

Everyone understands that the basic principle of parliamentary democracy is the accountability of the council of ministers to Parliament, Tharoor said.

Tharoor stressed that the opposition had come to this Winter Session determined to cooperate fully with the functioning of Parliament.

The opposition wanted to participate in major debates on matters of national importance, he said.

But what has been seen sadly is that the government has no interest in letting the opposition function responsibly in Parliament, he alleged.

"Today we are leaving this House in the feeling that our entire parliamentary democracy has been betrayed and reduced to a travesty," Tharoor added.