Centre insensitive towards farmers, common people: Cong leader Sonia Gandhi

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi slammed the Central government for rising inflation and termed it insensitive towards farmers and common people

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the Central government for rising inflation and termed it insensitive towards farmers and common people.

Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meet today, she said, "Let us honour the 700 farmers who sacrificed their lives during the farmers stir. The Central government is insensitive towards farmers and common people. The rise in prices of essential commodities is burning the monthly budget of every family."

"The Centre believes in selling off the assets of India. Several Public sector undertakings are being dismantled by the government," she said at the meet.

She also expressed solidarity with the suspended 12 members of Parliament and said that the move by the Rajya Sabha Chairman is "unprecedented and unacceptable".

The meeting by Congress comes amid protest by the opposition parties over the suspension of 12 MPs from the Rajya Sabha for "unruly conduct' on the last day of the monsoon session of parliament. The MPs were suspended last week.

Opposition MPs will hold a sit-in protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises on Wednesday in support of 12 suspended MPs.

The suspended members comprise six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from CPI and CPM: Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of Trinamool Congress; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and, Binoy Viswam of CPI.

On November 29, the members were suspended for alleged unruly conduct towards the end of the monsoon session in August when marshals were called after Opposition members stormed the Well of the House during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.