Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, along with other members of the opposition,  staged a protest against the central government, saying that “democratic process” was not being allowed inside parliament.

The protesters demanded union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s resignation over her unparliamentary language at a rally and tied black scarves across their mouths during the protest outside the Parliament House.

“The attitude of the government is not to allow democratic process inside the house,” Gandhi said.

“…it is a mindset of the top leadership of the country that democratic conversation should not be allowed inside the house…We are going to fight at every inch,” he added.

“We are being stopped and suppressed…,” he said.

The members were also seen carrying banners reading “Protect secularism and democracy”, “We want united India” and “Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Resign”.

The minister of state for food processing industries said at a poll rally here: “Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki.” (You have to decide if you want a government in Delhi to be led by the children of Lord Ram or illegitimate children).

Apart from the Congress, the parties which participated in the protest included the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The CPI-M was also invited to join the protest but stayed away, citing the presence of arch rivals Trinamool Congress.

AAP MP from Punjab Bhagwant Mann said the protest was against the government’s attempts to muzzle opposition’s voice. “We want our voice to be heard in parliament,” Mann said.

While the Rajya Sabha has failed to transact any business in the last few days over the issue, the Lok Sabha has seen a boycott of proceedings by the opposition since Thursday afternoon.