Opposition makes its intent clear with 'save democracy' march

NEW DELHI: The

INDIA bloc

of

opposition

parties made their intent clear on the very first day of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday by marching from the old

Parliament

building gate towards the new Parliament House holding copies of the

Constitution

and chanting slogans of "save democracy" and "long live Constitution".
Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party MP Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress's Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu, among others, assembled at the spot where the Gandhi statue once stood in the Parliament complex.

Former Congress chief and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi, too, joined the MPs.

Rahul said they (opposition) would not allow the Constitution to be "attacked" by PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. "This attack is not acceptable to us and that is why we held the Constitution and took oath," he said. "Our message is reaching the public and no power can touch the Constitution and we will protect it," he added.

The Gandhi statue, which was the favourite protest site for opposition MPs, was recently relocated along with 14 other statues that dotted the complex, to a new spot in the Parliament complex named Prerna Sthal.

Several opposition parties said the mandate of the Lok Sabha elections was against the BJP, even though it was able to form government with support of other parties. The INDIA bloc has claimed that the results showed the people have backed opposition parties to "save the Constitution".

In the House, Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress' Kalyan Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad were seated in the first row in the opposition benches. Prasad defeated two-time BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad, the constituency that comprises Ayodhya.