The monsoon session of Parliament ended yesterday, two days ahead of schedule
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and nearly a dozen other opposition leaders gathered outside Parliament today to protest an abrupt end to the monsoon session and the alleged assault on women MPs.
They also called on Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to lodge a complaint, and alleged "outsiders who were not part of Parliament security were brought in to manhandle opposition leaders and members, including women MPs".
"Without any provocation... outsiders, who were not part of Parliament security, were brought in to manhandle opposition leaders and members, including women MPs who were only protesting the government's conduct, highhandedness and muzzling of their voice," a joint statement said.
The statement slammed the government for its "authoritarian attitude and undemocratic actions", and accused it of "deliberately derailing" the monsoon session despite the opposition having "unanimously conveyed (the need) to discuss important national issues" like the Pegasus scandal.
Apart from Mr Gandhi and his party colleagues, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were present. Leaders from the DMK, the Samajwadi Party, the RJD, the CPM and CPI, the Muslim League, the RSP and the Kerala Congress also attended today's joint protest.
"Today we had to come out here to speak to you (the media) as we are not allowed to speak inside Parliament.... This is the murder of democracy," Mr Gandhi said during the protest march.
"First time ever in the Rajya Sabha... MPs were beaten, pushed around. The Chairman says he is upset... so is the Speaker. But it is their responsibility to ensure the House functions" he said.
"As far as 60 per cent of the country is concerned... there has been no Parliament. The voice of 60 per cent has been crushed... and yesterday, in the Rajya Sabha, physically beaten," Mr Gandhi added.
Sanjay Raut, a member of the Rajya Sabha, was quoted by news agency ANI as saying that the alleged physical bullying "felt like we were standing at the Pakistan border".
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has called the allegations "totally false".
In a lengthy press conference addressed by seven Union Ministers, the government hit back and accused the opposition of making threats if more bills were introduced in the remainder of this session.
Opposition leaders meet Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu
Yesterday Mr Naidu seemed to break down as he criticised the opposition for violating the "temple of democracy". He described the centre of the House as a "holy sanctum sanctorum", and said: "I am distressed by the way the way the sacredness was destroyed yesterday."
On Wednesday - amid utter chaotic and unruly scenes in the Rajya Sabha, as the government passed an amendment relating to an insurance bill - several women MPs alleged they were physically bullied by male marshals as they were protesting in the Well of the House.
Sharad Pawar later slammed the government, saying that in over a parliamentary career spanning 55 years he had never seen his women colleagues being attacked. "It is painful. It is an attack on democracy," he said, adding that over 40 Rajya Sabha marshals had been deployed.
The Congress' Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh, later also alleged the amendment had been passed after a large security force was stationed inside the hall.
"The government refused to send it to a select committee... a demand by all opposition parties including those close to the BJP. What happened (then) was worse than atrocious," he tweeted.
Opposition protests have marked the monsoon session of Parliament
Parliament, which began July 19 and was scheduled to end on Friday, was declared closed yesterday after fierce protests from the opposition forced multiple daily adjournments. The government has said the Lok Sabha functioned at only 22 per cent productivity and the Rajya Sabha at 28 per cent.
A united opposition has been unrelenting in its attacks on the government in the past weeks, raising issues like the Pegasus phone-hacking scandal, the farmers protest and the fuel price hikes.
The government has slammed the opposition for deliberately stalling business; Prime Minister Modi has twice lashed out, accusing the Congress of engineering protests and insulting Parliament.
With input from ANI, PTI