A sleepover in the House: When protesting MPs, MLAs hit the 00.00 hour

July 2022, Parliament

During this year’s Winter session, 20 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs — seven from the TMC, six from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, two from the CPM and one each from the CPI and AAP — went on a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex (though not the House floor itself), blaming the Centre for the gridlock in the House. The Opposition had been demanding a discussion on issues such as inflation, GST on essential items and LPG price hike.

February 2022, Karnataka Assembly

Following two days of continuous protests that led to disruption and chaos within the House over Minister K S Eshwarappa’s comment that “saffron flag may replace the national flag” over time, state Congress leaders, including Congress chief D K Sivakumar and Siddaramaiah, protested in the Karnataka Assembly hall for two nights — on February 17 and February 18. They were demanding the resignation of Eshwarappa and filing of a sedition case against him.

AAP MLAs sing-song, under Gandhi Statue at Vidhan Sabha, during night long protest against the LG, on Monday, August 29, 2022. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

October 2020, Punjab Assembly

On October 20, Punjab AAP MLAs spent the night inside the Vidhan Sabha complex in protest against the incumbent Congress government for not sharing copies of its Bill against agriculture laws as well as others introduced in the House. On the first day of the special Assembly session convened to pass a Bill by the then Congress government, that would bypass the Centre’s farm laws, the AAP MLAs sat on a dharna demanding copies of the legislation. They wore black robes with slogans written on them and went live on Facebook.

September 2020, Parliament

Eight suspended MPs, from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPM and AAP, spent one day and night on September 22 on the lawns of Parliament as a sit-in protest against their suspension for “misconduct” during discussions on the farm laws.

The MPs — the Congress’s Rajeev Satav, Syed Naseer Hussain and Ripun Bora; the TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen; AAP’s Sanjay Singh; and the CPM’s K K Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem — spent a peaceful night, but said they could get little sleep. “We hardly slept for two-and-a-half hours,” Ragesh told The Indian Express at the time. Some like O’Brien changed into T-shirts and track pants to be more comfortable. Senior Opposition MPs such as then Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah (National Conference), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) and Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) dropped by at night as a show of support.

AAP MLAs protest under Gandhi Statue at Vidhan Sabha. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

September 2016, Punjab Assembly

Over September 13 and 14, Congress MLAs spent two nights in the Punjab Assembly protesting against the lack of discussion on the no-confidence motion against the SAD-BJP coalition government, which was defeated with a voice note. Reports at the time noted that electricity supply to the Assembly hall was disconnected. It was only after a call to the Vidhan Sabha secretary that some lights and fans were switched on. The air conditioners stayed off.

July 2010, Karnataka Assembly

On July 12 that year, Karnataka Congress and JD(S) leaders held a 24-hour protest demanding a CBI probe into alleged rampant illegal mining of iron ore in the state under the BJP government. This was the time the Reddy brothers – Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy and his elder brother and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, and younger brother and Assembly member G Somashekara Reddy – were accused of being involved in the scam.

–with inputs from agencies