Left-sponsored protest falls flat in Parliament

The Left-sponsored demonstration of non-Congress/non-BJP MPs to protest against the policies of the Manmohan Singh government turned out to be a tame affair.

The Left-sponsored demonstration of non-Congress/non-BJP Members of Parliament (MP) to protest against the policies of the Manmohan Singh government turned out to be a tame affair — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) went un-represented, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had only a token representation.

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The MPs staged a sit-in inside Parliament House to protest the government’s “failure” on the issues of price rise, law and order and the signing of the nuclear deal.

Besides MPs of the four Left parties, those of the Janata Dal (S), TDP and the BSP were scheduled for participation. While the TDP MPs are believed to have missed their flight from Hyderabad, the BSP also did not participate to its full strength — only two party MPs, Rajesh Verma and Munawwar Hassan, took part in the protest.

Carrying placards and raising slogans, the MPs gathered beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and then moved on to the main gate of Parliament House to stage a sit-in, demanding the immediate convening of the delayed Monsoon Session.