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Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday rejected the demand of Opposition parties to revoke the suspension of 12 MPs over "unruly behaviour" on August 11, following which most Opposition parties staged a walkout from the Upper House.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised the matter of the suspensions soon after reports of some standing committees were laid on the table. Kharge termed the suspensions as "gross violation of rules and procedure" and "violation of well established and time-honoured" parliamentary provisions. Kharge alleged that the suspensions were done "selectively".

Earlier, 16 Opposition parties, barring the TMC, met at Kharge's office in Parliament to chalk out the strategy to take on the government over the suspensions. While TMC did not walk out with the other parties, its MPs also eventually walked out after party MP Derek O'Brien had made a brief intervention, condemning the suspensions.

If their passage was contentious and unleashed a trail of tumultuous events, the burial of the three farm sector reform laws was not a quiet affair either. On the opening day of winter session of Parliament on Monday, the government secured approval of both Houses for the repeal amid protests by the opposition parties which insisted on a debate.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, which sought to rescind the three laws passed last year, was passed by Lok Sabha within minutes. The exercise was replicated in the afternoon in Rajya Sabha. The passage of the legislation for revocation, promised by PM on Guru Nanak’s birthday on November 19, brings the curtains down on an intensely contested episode which saw sustained protests by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western UP, their tenacity eventually forcing a rethink.

The bill will now be sent to the President for his assent to meet the procedural requirement for the extinction of the three laws.

The opposition indicated that it plans to raise several issues ranging from fresh demands put forward by agitating farm unions such as removal of junior home minister Ajay Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence to the Pegasus controversy even as the government is set to move for repeal of the new farm laws in Parliament on Monday.

The all-party meeting on Sunday, which was not attended by PM Narendra Modi, saw the opposition listing several issues they intend to raise in the winter session, which is likely to start on a stormy note with the opposition looking to raise the heat despite the government’s decision to repeal the farm laws.

New Delhi: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Saturday announced to withdraw the proposed daily tractor march to Parliament during the Winter Session. The farmer leaders have decided to meet again on December 4. The SKM, an umbrella body of farmers’ groups, had earlier announced that 500 farmers will participate in peaceful tractor marches to the Parliament every day during the entire winter session, starting from November 29.

The farmers remain undecided on the tractor march even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal the farm laws owing to the protests by farmers’ bodies at Delhi’s borders. The SKM welcomed the stance taken by the government but said that it will wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures.

Underlining that it is not ready to accept any sort of "closure" on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the government gave a renewed push to punish the guilty on the 13th anniversary of the terror strikes by summoning a senior Pakistani diplomat and calling for an expeditious trial in the long pending case. In a note verbale, it also asked Pakistan to abide by its commitment to not allow territories under its control to be used for terrorism against India.

The government said in a statement it was a matter of deep anguish that even after 13 years of the heinous terror attack, the families of 166 victims from 15 countries still awaited closure, with Pakistan showing little sincerity in bringing the perpetrators to justice. The statement by MEA also said India will continue to make every effort to seek justice for the families of the victims and the martyrs.