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This is an archive article published on July 26, 2023

Songs, home food, Gandhi statue by their side, Opposition members rally around suspended AAP MP

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced the AAP MP's suspension on Monday on a motion moved by the government.

Songs, home food, Gandhi statue by their side, Opp members rally around suspended AAP MPAAP MP Sanjay Singh stages a sit-in over his suspension in the Parliament complex on Tuesday. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)
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Songs, home food, Gandhi statue by their side, Opposition members rally around suspended AAP MP
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Singing songs and poems composed by fellow Member of Parliament Imran Pratapgarhi, sharing simple, home-cooked food brought by MPs, sleeping under the stars with mosquitoes for company, and waking up next to the two magnificent Parliament buildings. There’s never a dull moment at the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex, where Opposition MPs are rallying around their Aam Aadmi Party colleague Sanjay Singh, who has been sitting on a dharna since Monday after being suspended from the Rajya Sabha.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced the AAP MP’s suspension on Monday on a motion moved by the government.

“I am a poet. So I have composed a poem on Manipur, which seems to have struck a chord with the people,” Pratapgarhi, a Congress Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra, said. “It appears the government is unwilling to even hear the word ‘Manipur’. So we are sitting here, next to the Gandhi statue, and talking about it.”

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The protesting MPs realise this is going to be a long-drawn struggle, but there’s little option, they noted, to bring the issue to the government’s notice. “We went to Manipur and saw the terrible state of affairs there — no food, no medicine,” Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen said at the protest site. “We want to hold a discussion on it and we want the Prime Minister to make a statement. What is wrong with this demand?”

Every party has prepared a roster for its MPs to ensure round-the-clock presence at the Gandhi statue site.

“Time is divided between MPs to be present at night and in the morning,” Sen said. “We will not leave Sanjay Singh alone. Tomorrow they may suspend us. We are in this together.”

On Monday, AAP members Sanjeev Arora brought breakfast, while Sushil Gupta got dinner for the protesting MPs. “Simple, home-cooked food and water to keep all of us going,” Gupta said. “Sleeping under the stars…it’s full of mosquitoes, but our resolve is strong.”

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A candlelight march has been planned for the night in remembrance of victims in Manipur. “It is a remarkable experience to see Parliament first thing after waking up,” Jebi Mather, Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, said. “The government probably wanted to scare us by suspending Sanjay Singh. In fact, it has done quite the opposite — we are all here, together.”

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