Indian opposition parties led by the Congress party on Monday staged a protest march in Delhi on Monday against what the oldest party termed as "oppressive attitude on the opposition".
Dressed all in black, opposition lawmakers, led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, marched from the parliament complex to Vijay Chowk (a distance of around 1.5 kilometers).
The protesting lawmakers were seen holding hands and carrying a banner that read, “Satyamev Jayate” ("Truth Alone Triumphs").
Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was also present during the protest march.
Before the march commenced, opposition members gathered at Indian freedom struggle icon Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the parliamentary premises, demanding that a Join Parliamentary Committee (JPC) be constituted to probe the Hindenburg-Adani scandal.
“We have come in black attire as we want to show that PM Modi is destroying democracy. First, autonomous bodies were abolished, then they formed the government by threatening those who won the elections. Agencies like Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation were used on those who did not bow down,” Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters
The participating opposition parties included the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), and others.
Surprise Move by Trinamool Congress
Earlier in the day, parliamentarians of the opposition parties held a meeting in the chamber of Kharge in the parliament building to formulate the strategy for the day, in which, surprisingly, Prasun Banerjee and Jawahar Sircar of Trinamool Congress (TMC) also participated.
This comes as a major development as it indicates a major shift in Mamata Banerjee's party TMC, since the party had announced it would stay equidistant from both Congress and the BJP.
Trinamool Congress, however, said that its support was limited to the Rahul Gandhi protest, as it believes the opposition should be united in this one.
“We have been in every protest and walk-out since the first day, never joined one. The question of walking together is due symbolism, which we undertook today - a special mark of solidarity against coordinated and undemocratic attacks on everyone,” Jawahar Sircar told reporters.
On Trinamool Congress’ joining the meeting, Kharge said that Congress welcomes anyone who comes forward to “protect democracy.”
On Sunday, Congress held another demonstration to protest the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as a member of parliament.
The former parliamentarian from Wayanad in Kerala was disqualified after a local court in Surat convicted him of criminal defamation for his remark made during a poll campaign trail in 2019. He has been sentenced to two years in jail.
However, Rahul Gandhi has been given 30 days' time to file an appeal, but his disqualification was confirmed by a letter from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, citing rules.