Being in House valuable than staying out: Birla advises Oppn

New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday requested members of various Opposition parties to maintain their positive support for running the Parliament and advised them that "it is valuable to be inside the House compared to staying outside", sources said.

Birla gave the suggestion as he invited Opposition leaders, who had boycotted the Lok Sabha proceedings and staged a walkout earlier in the day seeking withdrawal of the two farm Bills which were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, to his chamber for tea.

The parliamentarians included Congress' leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, his party colleagues K. Suresh and Gaurav Gogoi, NCP's Supriya Sule, Trinamool Congress's Kalyan Banerjee and Saugata Roy and DMK's T.R. Baalu among others.

The opposition was protesting against the government in the lower House as the two controversial Bills --- the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday despite their objections.

Eight members of the opposition from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist, were also suspended for their unruly behaviour.

As the Lok Sabha has already passed the two bills, they will now go to the President for his assent.

The third farm Bill - the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is yet to be taken up in Rajya Sabha, though passed by the Lok Sabha.