Congress-led Opposition MPs concluded a Tiranga march from Parliament to Vijaya Chowk in Delhi today to protest against the alleged attitude of the Centre that caused the washout of the second half of the Budget session. They also held a press conference at Vijaya Chowk to highlight the session's disruption.

Lawmakers on Thursday set out to march on the streets of Delhi in scores with the national flag in their hands.

#WATCH | Opposition MPs take out ‘Tiranga March’ from Parliament to Vijay Chowk, on the last day of the Budget session of Parliament in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ljvbnlN1ec

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2023

Addressing a press conference at Vijaya Chowk, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of talking about democracy but not walking the talk.

Something is fishy that is why the government is not agreeing to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue, Kharge alleged.

He also accused the Centre of escaping from addressing the Adani-Hindenburg issue and diverting attention to Rahul Gandhi's comments in London.

#WATCH | Delhi: The Modi govt speaks a lot about democracy but what they say they don’t reflect that in their actions: Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress National President pic.twitter.com/E5R0gh55Wf

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2023

Sources told ANI that 13 political parties including the Congress would skip the Evening Tea meeting to be hosted by the Lok Sabha Speaker today, the last day of the Parliament's Budget session.

Reacting to the Opposition's protest, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that they had created a ruckus in the House.

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"The country is seeing what Congress is doing. Congress neither believes in the Constitution of India nor respects the law," Rijiju said.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition parties have decided to coordinate and cooperate in the future as well.

Leaders of several opposition parties, including Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), TMC, AAP, JD(U), CPI, CPI(M), RJD, JMM, RSP and IUML, among others, attended a meeting on Wednesday to coordinate their strategy in both Houses.

The Budget session began on March 13, and Lok Sabha proceedings have been disrupted since then due to protests by the Opposition and treasury benches.

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While the Opposition has been demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue, the treasury benches are demanding an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his democracy is under attack remarks made in London.

"We are demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue," Kharge said, "but why is the government afraid when it will have a majority in the panel?"

Gandhi was also disqualified from the Lok Sabha during the session after a court in Gujarat convicted him in a criminal defamation case.

The Tiranga march and press conference aim to bring attention to the issues that led to the washout of the second half of the Budget session and put them forward before the people. The session is scheduled to end on Thursday.

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With agency inputs.

First Published:Apr 6, 2023 12:58 PM IST