Leaders of the Opposition-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc hit the streets on Friday to protest against the suspension of a whopping 146 MPs from Parliament in an “undemocratic manner” during the Winter Session which ended on December 21.

#WATCH | Leaders of INDIA alliance parties come together on one stage to protest against the suspension of 146 MPs in Delhi pic.twitter.com/SwGAHfrdxq

While addressing the Jantar Mantar rally, Rahul Gandhi blamed the Modi government for the Parliament security breach, which took place on December 13. He said it was “unemployment which eventually led to the parliament security breach”.

VIDEO | “Two-three youths entered the Parliament with smoke cannister and we saw how BJP MPs got scared and ran away. Now, it is definitely a question of a security breach but the reason behind the protest (of youth intruding into the Lok Sabha) is unemployment,” says Congress MP… pic.twitter.com/UjajLm5hjr

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 22, 2023

Gandhi questioned how the youths who were able to enter the Parliament were able to carry the gas canisters. “If they could have passed the security checks then they could have also carried anything else, how were they able to pas the security checks?” Gandhi questioned. He further said, “The narendra Modi government has not given employment to youth, this is why they jumped and entered the parliament.”

At the rally, Gandhi said that by suspending the MPs, the government has silenced crores of people as every MP carries lakhs of votes and represent the people of the country.

After the Gandhi scion, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge took to the dias to train guns at the BJP-ruled Centre for the unprecedented suspension of MPs. He called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “overconfident” and said, “PM Modi is being overconfident and that the INDIA alliance will not be silenced through the use of the Enforcement Directorate, or suspension of MPs.”

#WATCH | At INDIA bloc protest at Jantar Mantar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge says, “Under our Constitution, everyone has the right to speak. When we give notice (in Parliament) we are not even given a chance to read the notice. Should I say that the BJP govt is not… pic.twitter.com/42di2eObDR

— ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2023

Meanwhile, protests are being carried out nationwide, at most district headquarters of the INDIA bloc parties.

#WATCH | Congress-led UDF protests against the suspension of 146 Opposition MPs in front of Raj Bhawan in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram pic.twitter.com/yVcQcBwZbp

— ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2023

Bulk suspension of MPs

A series of suspensions ensued in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after the Winter Session witnessed disruptions following the December 13 breach of Parliament security incident with demands of a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter. Ahead of the sine-die conclusion of the session, three more Opposition MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha, pushing the total number of suspensions to a record-breaking 146 – 100 in Lok Sabha and 46 in Rajya Sabha.

On Thursday, the Opposition MPs, including those suspended, marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk as a mark of protest against the move by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

During the earlier protest, Kharge had urged the government to “behave democratically”, alleging that the BJP does not have faith in democracy.