Condemning the 'unwarranted and undemocratic' suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, floor leaders of Opposition parties of the Upper House said they will meet on Tuesday to deliberate on the future course of action to resist the government's "authoritarian decision".
The meeting will take place in the office of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Congress, DMK, SP, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, IUML, LJD, JDS, MDMK, TRS, AAP are associated with the joint statement issued by the Opposition parties.
"The leaders of the Opposition parties unitedly condemn the unwarranted and undemocratic suspension of 12 members in violation of all the Rules of Procedure of Rajya Sabha pertaining to suspension of members for the entire duration of the Winter session," the joint statement read.
"The motion moved by the government for suspending the members in regard to the unfortunate incident that occurred in the previous session is unprecedented and violates the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). The floor leaders of Opposition parties of Rajya Sabha will meet tomorrow to deliberate on the future course of action to resist the authoritarian decision of the Government and defend Parliamentary democracy," it added.
"Leaders of Opposition parties are meeting tomorrow to discuss future course of action. If voices of those who raise voices for others are suppressed, it is like strangulating the democracy. We condemn it, all parties condemn it," LOP in Rajya Sabha Kharge said.
The Upper House of the Parliament has suspended 12 MPs for the rest of the current session on account of 'indiscipline' during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The suspended MPs include six from Congress, two each from TMC and Shiv Sena and one each from CPM and CPI.
The action has been taken against them for the 'indiscipline' in the monsoon session of the house.
The suspended MPs are Elamaram Kareem (CPM), Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, R Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of the Congress, Binoy Viswam of CPI, Dola Sen and Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Anil Desai of Shiv Sena.
Reacting to the suspension CPM MP Elamaram Kareem said, "It is an authoritarian decision. We're not heard by anybody. Chairman/Secretariat/Parliamentary Affairs Minister didn't hear us. Basis of this action had occurred in the last session and action came in this session. It is unprecedented."
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed ruckus on Monday, with sloganeering by Opposition MPs. They were demanding a discussion on the Bill to repeal the three farm laws.
Meanwhile, the 'Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021' was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.
In an address to the nation on November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repealing of the three Central farm laws on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti. The bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week.
The winter session of Parliament is scheduled to conclude on December 23.
( With inputs from ANI )
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