Suspended RS MPs end dramatic sit-in after Oppn decides to boycott House
   Date :23-Sep-2020

Derek OBrien_1  
 TMC MP Derek O’Brien and Cong MP Rajiv Satav (R) during the sit-in on Tuesday. (PTI)
 
 
NEW DELHI :
 
WITH the Opposition deciding to boycott the Rajya Sabha, its eight suspended MPs on Tuesday ended their overnight sit-in inside the Parliament House complex and said they would take their fight against the Farm Bills to the street. The suspended Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, who spent the night on the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in what several old-timers said was the first such overnight protest in the complex.
 
Till late night, the protesting MPs raised slogans and sang songs while a host of Opposition leaders such as National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party’s Jaya Bachchan and Congress’ Ahmed Patel, Digvijay Singh and Shashi Tharoor visited them to express their support. With the Opposition parties boycotting the rest of the session, there was no point in continuing with the dharna, which started on Monday afternoon and ended 24 hours later on Tuesday, said Congress MP Hussain.
 
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had rejected a notice for a no-confidence motion against Harivansh as it was not in proper format and did not give a 14-day notice period. Several Opposition parties, including AAP, TMC and the Left parties, led by the Congress walked out from the Rajya Sabha demanding that the suspension of the eight members be revoked. But the Government is insisting on an apology first.