Manikam Tagore of Congress on strike

New Delhi: After their suspension was revoked on Tuesday, Congress MPs insisted that their “dignified” protest was to demand that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members be given the right to speak in Parliament.Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, “Parliamentary conventions and rules should apply equally to all, and not to select opposition MPs. The Lakshman Rekha should include maintaining the dignity of the leader of the opposition.”He said the opposition MPs protested only when the LOP was not allowed to speak on the motion of thanks to the President and then representatives of 240 opposition MPs were also “silenced”.Amarendra Raja Waring, another suspended MP, said the period of suspension was too long. He said, “We feel there is discrimination in the House. There is no equality. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is given a chance whenever he wants. There is an independent mandate for Nishikant, Anurag Thakur, Ravneet Bittu, but there is no independent mandate for the Leader of the Opposition. The Speaker sometimes discriminates, takes biased decisions and we feel bad.”After his suspension was withdrawn on Tuesday afternoon, MPs Tagore, Waring, Hibi Eden, Prashant Padole, Kiran Reddy, Gurjit Aujla, Dean Kuriakose paid homage at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex.