Govt responsible for deadlock in RS: Kharge

Holding the government responsible for the deadlock in the Rajya Sabha, opposition members on Tuesday said they will continue with their joint protests against the suspension of 12 MPs till the time it is revoked. Addressing reporters outside Parliament, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the suspension is against rules and undemocratic.

He said they will continue to protest in support of the suspended members and sit on a dharna with them and also urge Lok Sabha members to sit in support with them.

”The government is fully responsible for the deadlock in Rajya Sabha. We have been meeting the chairman and the government and have stressed that they cannot suspend members like this. They have wrongly and undemocratically suspended 12 MPs for what has happened during the previous Monsoon session,” be said.

Kharge said they have to first name each member separately and tell why each of them has been suspended and only then can the suspension take place and that too should have happened in August 11.

”When the House is prorogued, the government has no right to suspend the members anymore for the previous session.Their action of suspension is neither as per rules nor per the Constitution.

”It seems the government’s intention is clear of not allowing the House to function.Till the time their suspension is revoked, our fight will continue,” Kharge said. ”We will not allow our voice to be throttled. This has no place in democracy and we will not allow any dictatorship. Modi ji wants to run Parliament with dictatorship. We will not allow this to happen,” he alleged. Twelve Opposition MPs — six from the Congress, two each from the Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from the CPI and CPI(M) — were suspended from Rajya Sabha last Monday for the entire Winter Session of Parliament for their ”unruly” conduct in the previous session in August.