On the second day of the 25-day Winter Session of Parliament, 16 opposition parties met with Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to push back on 12 opposition MPs being suspended yesterday for the whole of Parliament's Winter session. The MPs were suspended by the House for exhibiting violent behaviour during the Monsoon session.
When their request to revoke the MPs' suspension was denied, opposition parties walked out of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and have since been protesting at the Gandhi statue, much like they did yesterday.
The Winter Session of Parliament began on Monday amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition, who wanted discussion around the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, in an attempt to guarantee farmers some of their other demands that go beyond just the repeal of the three farm laws.
However, as the 25-day session began with 36 legislative bills on the agenda, the Lok Sabha promptly passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill soon after the Winter Session convened, without providing the opportunity for discussion that the opposition was vying for.
Terming the repeal of the farm laws in Parliament a victory, farmer leaders from Punjab yesterday urged the Centre to decide on their other demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops, in today's session.
For the rest of the 25-day Winter Session, taking place over 19 sittings, other bills are expected to be passed, including the crucial Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill, and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. The session is also expected to introduce one finance bill in addition to the 36 legislative bills.