The eight Members of Parliament (MPs), who were earlier suspended by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for "unruly behaviour" with deputy chairman Harivansh Singh, stayed on the lawn next to Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises on Monday.
Leaders across party lines came to meet them, as they sat on the lawn, calling for an indefinite dharna against farmers' bills and wrongful suspension. From Ghulam Nabi Azad, Adhir Ranjan Choudhury to Digvijay Singh, several Congress MPs also lined up to boost the morale of the protesting MPs.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule and Congress' Hibi Eden also sat with the protesting leaders. Sule also wished Congress MP Rajiv Satav on his birthday, as also the latter's party colleague Neeraj Dangi.
While it became clear that the government will not initiate talks with the protesting MPs, food, pillows and bedsheets were soon spread on lawns. They also used two fans to beat the humid weather.
As DMK leader Tiruchi Siva sent homemade idlis for the MPs, tea came at around 10:30 pm along with bottles of soda for MPs to choose from.
However, it has been made sure that MPs do not face any inconvenience. "People came and gave us an ambulance and doctor's number in case of any medical emergency. No one disturbed us yet," said one of the MPs.
The protests were not all about bickering and responding to Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's allegations on protesting MPs for breaking decorum and intent of physically harming the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha.
On Monday, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the one-week suspension of Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Congress' Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI (M)'s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim for "unruly behaviour" with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Sunday during the passage of the farm bills.
( With inputs from ANI )
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