Nearly two dozen opposition MPs are holding a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex against their suspension. They spent Wednesday night on the lawns near the Mahatma Gandhi statue and woke up to this morning to breakfast served by Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, six of whose numbers are among the suspended MPs.
The meal plan for the protesting MPs are varied and being catered in turn by opposition parties, with the focus on regional cuisine. According to news agency PTI, details for this are being planned and tracked by DMK MP Kanimozhi via a WhatsApp group.
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On Wednesday, the MPs had idli-sambhar for breakfast (organised by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva).
For lunch they had curd rice (also arranged by the DMK). Dinner was roti, daal, paneer and chicken tandoori (arranged by the Trinamool), while Kanimozhi arranged for gajar ka halwa as a sweet option and the Trinamool offered fruits.
Lunch today will be arranged by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and dinner by Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP was also in charge of erecting a tent for the MPs to shield themselves from the sun but permission was denied due to rules about structures in the complex.
{{/usCountry}}Lunch today will be arranged by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and dinner by Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP was also in charge of erecting a tent for the MPs to shield themselves from the sun but permission was denied due to rules about structures in the complex.
{{/usCountry}}However, the MPs have been allowed to use the bathroom in the Parliament library.
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Seven of the suspended MPs are from the Trinamool, six are from the DMK and three are from the TRS. Two are from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and one each is from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and AAP.
Apart from these, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Mahua Majhi, and leaders of Nationalist Congress Party - none of whose members have been suspended - have given their time to sit with the protesting MPs.