'Opposition boycott in Lok Sabha is disservice to nation'

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday termed the opposition boycott in the Lok Sabha as disservice to the nation and urged all opposition members to come back to the house.

"The government is ready to discuss any issue and if opposition wants, prime minister is ready to intervene," Naidu, the minister for parliamentary affairs, told reporters outside parliament.

Attacking Congress for opposing the suspension of 25 Lok Sabha MPs, Naidu said: "Congress has no moral right to do so. Even those who are boycotting the Lok Sabha are doing disservice to the nation."

Naidu said that as many as 63 MPs were suspended in 1989 during Congress rule and even in previous UPA regime some members had to face similar action.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar reacted sharply to the Congress protest.

He said: "The action was taken as the Congress members disrespected parliamentary democracy. Congress should apologise to Lok Sabha speaker for the behaviour of its members."

Congress leaders and MPs on Wednesday continued their protest against the suspension of 25 of its Lok Sabha members by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Led by party President Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, staged the protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in parliament complex.