'Government strangulated democracy': Sonia Gandhi on suspension of MPs from Parliament at CPP meet

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged that so many Opposition Members of Parliament have been suspended from the house simply for raising a perfectly reasonable and legitimate demand on the issue of security breach. On the party performance in assembly elections, Sonia Gandhi said to say that these results in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were very disappointing is an understatement.

New Delhi:Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in her address to the parliamentary party meeting at the Central Hall of Sanvidhan Sadan, on Wednesday questioned the motive behind the suspension of MPs in the Parliament.

"Democracy has been strangulated by the BJP government. Never before have so many Opposition Members of Parliament been suspended from the house, and that too, simply for raising a perfectly reasonable and legitimate demand," she said. Sonia Gandhi said that the opposition MPs were only making a legitimate demand in the Parliament on the issue of the security breach.

The Congress former chief stressed the need for the party to prepare next year's general elections and the party leaders would have to make greater efforts in the aftermath of the recent assembly election results. Saying that these results in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were very disappointing is an understatement, she said and urged the leaders to work in the next year's general elections with a renewed vigour.

Sonia Gandhi further said that their party was facing enormous challenges and recalled that their leaders had fought against such insurmountable odds in the past. She said the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament was only aimed at deflecting the attention of women voters.

After the CPP meeting, the Congress MPs held a protest against outside Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the suspension of opposition members.

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