"Rajya Sabha Boycott Till 3 Demands Met": Opposition Cranks Up Pressure

The opposition will boycott the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha till three key demands as well as a "request" of revoking of the suspension of eight members, are met, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad declared in the upper house today as high drama continued for the third straight day. The suspended members continued their sit-in on the lawns of the parliament complex till about 11:30 AM after spending the night there in protest. They were suspended over Sunday's unprecedented chaos and "unruly behaviour" in the Rajya Sabha when two controversial farm bills were passed. The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman is at the heart of opposition protests; their no-confidence motion against him was rejected yesterday by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.