Youth Congress seeks to justify protest against LS speaker

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Sunday said its protest against Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was "right" and its leaders were prepared to justify their action if summoned to reply to a parliamentary privilege motion.

"We respect the house and the speaker, but if asked to explain our stand on the protest, we would do it," IYC spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey told IANS.

Hundreds of IYC members, led by their senior leaders including president Amarinder Singh Raja, had protested outside Mahajan's house on August 5 -- a day after 25 Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for creating ruckus in the house.

After the incident, BJP Lok Sabha MPs, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, submitted a privilege motion against IYC leaders for "attacking" the office of the speaker by demonstrating outside her residence.

The IYC, which observed its foundation day on Sunday, said it would continue its nationwide agitation against the Narendra Modi government until its "tainted" ministers resigned.

"We will continue our agitation against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh till they resign," Pandey said.

Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are embroiled in a controversy linked to former IPL chief Lalit Modi, who has been charged with financial impropriety, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is under opposition fire over the Vyapam recruitment scam in his state.