Opposition’s overnight protest in Parliament continues

The opposition party leaders’ night-long protest over Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s suspension from the whole Monsoon session of Parliament resumed on Tuesday.

During the nighttime demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Parliament House, several opposition party leaders followed suspended MP Sanjay Singh. During the rally, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party MPs held posters reading “INDIA for Manipur.”

On Tuesday morning, Singh said, “We have been sitting here since yesterday. Our only demand is that PM Modi speak on the Manipur issue. We will keep protesting here and I still request PM Modi to come to the Parliament and speak up on Manipur.”

Earlier on Monday, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar accused Singh of disrupting the House’s proceedings when it resumed Question Hour amid Opposition protests over the Prime Minister’s statement on the Manipur violence and a detailed discussion of the issue.

After the House resumed proceedings at 12 noon following its first postponement earlier in the day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader approached the Chairman’s podium to discuss Opposition demands. Dhankhar motioned for him to return to his seat. As the AAP member continued to protest, the Chairman named him.

Soon after the Chairman named Sanjay Singh, House Leader Piyush Goyal presented a motion urging the Chair to suspend the AAP member, claiming that such behavior “is completely against the ethics and rules of the House.”