Suspended T- Cong MPs stage silent protest

Eight Congress MPs from the Telangana region, who were suspended from the Lok Sabha for four days, on Wednesday staged a silent protest before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament premises.

In a symbolic protest to convey that their voice was being suppressed, the MPs sat on a dharna before the Gandhi statue by tying black cloth on their mouths. However, they held placards demanding introduction of a Bill on Telangana in the on-going budget session of the Parliament. The placards also had slogans demanding that the government honour the promise made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009.

The MPs had threatened that they would intensify their agitation for statehood from next Monday.

Meanwhile, the newly nominated Rajya Sabha members from the state Palwai Goverdhan Reddy and Ponnala Laxmaiah have expressed solidarity with the agitation of Telangana MPs.