Taking a swipe at members of opposition parties for taking out a protest march to seek revocation of suspension of 12 MPs, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the voters of the country have given them their "marching orders" twice. He was referring to their back-to-back defeats in two Lok Sabha elections.
He asked the suspended MPs, over to express regret and rejoin the House, saying that the government wants their constructive criticism and suggestions to be part of the debates.
With leaders of various opposition parties taking out a protest march in support of their demand for revoking the suspension of the 12 MPs, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took a swipe at them, saying the voters of the country have given them "marching orders" twice -- a reference to their back-to-back defeats in two Lok Sabha elections -- and will reduce their presence further.
Noting that the opposition parties have participated in the Rajya Sabha proceedings at times and disrupted it at other times, he wondered what their strategy was.
Joshi criticised the opposition members for questioning Rajya Sabha Chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu for running the Zero Hour amid their protests.
A total of 50 opposition members, including those from the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, had given notices and some of them had even spoken during the Zero Hour, he said.
The minister added that the government has sought adjournments of the House at times so that the opposition members can take part in the discussions about bills and other issues.
"I call upon the Congress members, the other opposition members to express regret and come to the House," he said.
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