A group of around 17 parties, including the Congress and the TDP, today staged a protest and formed a human chain in the Parliament Complex over various issues such as the "failure" of the NDA government to run Parliament and grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
Leaders of the parties assembled near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and raised slogans against the government over banking scams, rising atrocities against Dalits, sealing of commercial establishments in Delhi, and non-grant of special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
Leading the protest was UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Leaders of the TMC, Left parties, NCP, DMK, Samajwadi Party, BSP and the TDP, which severed ties with the BJP recently, were present at the protest.
"Today 17 opposition parties and even those who were part of the NDA (till recently), formed a human chain around Parliament. It was against the non-performance of the government and its failure on different issues," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
The protest lasted over half-an-hour.
The opposition leaders alleged that they wanted to raise key issues of national importance in Parliament that concerned the common man, but the government was not allowing Parliament to function to protect itself from being "exposed".
The opposition wants to raise issues such as the multi-crore PNB scam, dilution of SC/ST Act, the Cauvery issue, farm distress, disillusionment among the youth and the CBSE paper leak scam, among others in Parliament and hold a discussion on these.
Azad said, "By compulsion we have to hold a protest and form a human chain as a protest against the government's behaviour."
He alleged that the NDA was finished as all parties were leaving the alliance led by the BJP. He added that the people were also turning against the BJP.
Another opposition leader said the government had failed on all fronts and stood exposed and that was why it was avoiding Parliament.
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