Congress president Sonia Gandhi taking part in protests at the Parliament complex against the suspension party lawmakers in the Lok Sabha. (Agence France-Presse)
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said this morning that she is not aware of any proposal from the government to end the stand-off over the suspension of 25 lawmakers from her party. The Congress' protests, she said, would continue.
An aggressive Congress boycotted Lok Sabha proceedings for a second day today and disrupted the Rajya Sabha, forcing an early adjournment over the five-day suspension of the MPs by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The party also held protests in the Parliament premises and in different cities. Also seen sloganeering were former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs Gandhi, who has said the suspension is a "murder of democracy."
The police used water cannons to disperse members of the Youth Congress who protested in front of Ms Mahajan's Delhi residence.
There has been speculation that Ms Mahajan could revoke the five-day suspension she ordered on Monday, with the government's floor managers reportedly discussing how to de-escalate matters with only eight working days of the monsoon session remaining.
The government needs to push the Goods and Services Tax or GST bill that will give effect to a major reform. Two-thirds of each house must pass the GST bill, and the government needs the Congress's support in the Rajya Sabha.
Opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Nationalist Congress Party today raised slogans demanding that the Speaker withdraw her suspension order and then walked out of the Lok Sabha.
The suspension has built new opposition unity, with nine parties boycotting or walking out of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to show solidarity with the Congress.
Parties like the Biju Janata Dal and Trinamool Congress too have asked Ms Mahajan to reconsider her order. Some BJP allies like the Akali Dal have also said that the Speaker's punishment is excessive.
Ms Mahajan had suspended the 25 Congress lawmakers, more than half the party's team of 44 MPs in the House, for "persistently, willfully obstructing" the Lok Sabha.
She had suspended the Congress MPs after repeatedly warning them not to carry placards into the House as they demanded the resignation of three top BJP leaders caught in controversies.
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