Mumbai: Maha Vijas Aghadi (MVA) MLAs on Saturday staged a silent protest outside State Assembly against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a member of Parliament.
The MLAs covering their mouths with black bands sat on the steps of the Assembly holding posters. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray and Congress' Jayant Patil were seen participating in the protest.
On Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) from the date of his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark.
Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha triggered a massive political row with the BJP stating that the Congress leader was "a habitual loose cannon" and the Congress alleging that he was "deliberately disqualified".
While Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge rallied behind Rahul Gandhi, opposition leaders including Mamata Banerjee, K Chandrashekar Rao, MK Stalin, Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejiwal, Sharad Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP-led government. Leaders of Left parties, Janata Dal-Secular also attacked the government. Some of them called it a "black day" for Indian democracy.
NCP leader Sharad Pawar said opposition leaders must stand together to defend our democratic institutions. (with Agency inputs)
