Indian parliament adjourned following protests over Gandhi's disqualification

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- India's parliament was adjourned on Monday as lawmakers belonging to the Indian National Congress (INC) protested against the disqualification of senior opposition leader Rahul Gandhi from the lower house of the parliament.

A former INC president, Rahul Gandhi had been a lawmaker since 2004. He is the son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, and great-grandson of the country's first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Monday was the first day when the parliament resumed after Gandhi's disqualification from parliament on Friday. He represented the Wayanad parliamentary constituency in the southern state of Kerala in the lower house. Violent protests by INC members were witnessed over the past three days over his expulsion from the parliament.

Gandhi told the media on Saturday that his fight for democracy in the country would continue and he would also continue asking questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "association" with business tycoon Gautam Adani.

Gandhi's expulsion from the parliament was a result of an order by a court in the western state of Gujarat sentencing him to a two-year imprisonment in a defamation case wherein he had passed certain objectionable comments against the community that Modi belongs to.

During the day, the INC lawmakers wore black outfit and raised slogans inside the parliament against Modi linking him with Adani, alleging that the prime minister had been "benefiting" the business tycoon.

INC President Mallikarjun Kharge said democracy was being trampled in the South Asian country. He alleged that the federal government had been using the probe agencies to bend those who did not bow before it.

Amid the raising of slogans by INC lawmakers, the lower house was adjourned till 16:00 local time on Monday, while the upper house was adjourned till 11:00 on Tuesday.