Sonia Gandhi, Rahul wear black bands, protest MPs suspension

New Delhi, Aug 4: Congress members from both houses, led by party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi wore black bands, on Tuesday to protest the suspension of 25 MPs of the party by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

The Congress members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and former union ministers Ghulam nabi Azad, Jairam Ramesh and Ambika Soni, wore black bands on their arms and protested in front the Mahatma Gandhi statue in parliament complex.

"Many parties like the Trinamool Congress, Left and the Aam Aadmi Party have pledged their support to us and said they will boycott Lok Sabha proceeding," Kharge said.

On Monday, Mahajan suspended 25 Congress parliamentarians for five days for "willfully obstructing the business of the house" and not adhering to her repeated warnings for observing rules in the house.

IANS