The ruling Grand Alliance staged a strong protest in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Monday against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.

Though chief minister Nitish Kumar maintained a studious silence on the issue, his party Janata Dal United (JDU) was a part of the demonstration led by the Congress.

Legislators of all other allies — Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS), CPI(ML), CPI and CPM participated in the protest. Indicating that it was a well-coordinated move, the Grand Alliance MLAs came wearing black as part of their clothes.

Some sported a black armband, some had put on a black bandi (traditional half or sleeveless jacket), black turbans, or just a black cloth on their shoulders.

As the session started with Question Hour at 11am all the 19 Congress MLAs rushed to the well of the House, shouting slogans and waving posters about ‘democracy in danger’, the harassment of Opposition by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level, and condemning Rahul’s disqualification as a vindictive act.

Legislators from other allied parties, too, joined them in the well and protested on the issue. Meanwhile, the BJP MLAs also trooped to the well to protest the hike in electricity tariff in the state by around 20 per cent last week.

They staged a walkout after protesting on the issue and jostling with the Grand Alliance legislators in the well for some time.

The Grand Alliance protest continued for some time and then they walked out of the Assembly premises to the ‘Martyrs Memorial’ and staged a short march over the issue.