18th Lok Sabha Session: INDIA Bloc MPs To Assemble In Parliament Complex On Day 1, March To House Together In Show Of Unity

18th Lok Sabha: In a bid to showcase a unified stance post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Opposition INDIA bloc MPs will assemble in the Parliament complex on Monday morning and march to the Lower House in unison to attend the first day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

The INDIA bloc Lok Sabha MPs are scheduled to gather near Gate No 2 of the old Parliament building, where the statute of Mahatma Gandhi statue once stood and then march together to the House to attend the proceedings of the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha, a senior leader of the opposition grouping said, according to a report by news agency PTI.

The Gandhi statue, which was a popular protest site for MPs in the Parliament complex, was recently relocated along with 14 other statues that dotted the complex. All these were installed in one area, Prerna Sthal.

The opposition leader said the INDIA MPs will walk down together to the Parliament building and some of them will also hold copies of the Constitution of India as a symbolic gesture.

Notably, the INDIA bloc led a vociferous campaign, claiming that the ruling BJP will dismantle the Constitution and eradicate democracy in the country if they get an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections.

Several opposition parties have claimed that the mandate of 2024 Lok Sabha elections was against the ruling BJP, even though it was able to form government with support of its NDA allies.

The bloc has also claimed that people backed the opposition parties to “save Constitution.”

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will see oath-taking by newly elected members, followed by election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to joint sitting of both the Houses on June 27.

(With PTI inputs)