The Monsoon Session of Parliament continued to be a washout as both the Houses witnessed another day of disruptions and adjournments on Monday.
Congress-led opposition parties continued to stall the proceedings of Parliament, inviting the ire of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who went on to suspend at least 25 opposition MPs for five days.The MPs were suspended for causing "grave disorder" in Parliament.Reacting to the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker to suspend the MPs, Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed it as a "black day in the history of India's Parliamentary democracy".
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) also decided to boycott Lok Sabha proceedings for five days to show solidarity with suspended Congress members.
Condemning the decision of the Speaker, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused Mahajan of "not allowing the opposition to speak". "Democratic processes are not being respected. It is a black day, they want to suppress and oppress us," he said.
Kharge further said that protesting and raising banners was nothing new. "The Lok Sabha Speaker herself used to get out of her seat to protest when she was a member of opposition," he said.
Mahajan, however, defended her decision, saying "this is the best I could do".
"This is a message to every MP who will behave like this. I do agree it is a stringent act, but I was left with no option," said Mahajan.
This came even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a brief statement in Rajya Sabha, claiming she never requested the UK government for former Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi's travel papers. Her remarks were, however, drowned by Opposition sloganeering.
Earlier on Monday, the opposition parties targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the "brazen attitude" of the government.
Questioning PM Modi's silence on the issue of Lalitgate and Vyapam, Sonia Gandhi said, "The champion of Mann Ki Baat retreats into Maun Vrat when there's scandal involving his ministers."
Left leader Sitaram Yechury also hit out at Prime Minister Modi, saying he becomes "Maunendra Modi on issue of corruption".
Hitting back at the opposition, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Congress must "introspect" and "let Parliament function".
Claiming that while Congress was adamant on resignation of BJP leaders, other opposition parties wanted discussion, Jaitley said, "If most of the parties want discussion, Congress should also think on its attitude towards Parliament." He further accused the Congress of holding Parliament ransom.
The all-party meeting convened by the government on Monday also failed. While the Congress stuck to its demand for resignations of Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan before any discussion, the government offered a debate on the matter in which PM Modi would also speak.
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