Some BJP MPs on Friday sought to mount a counter-protest at the venue of an Opposition agitation against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha members, a day after Upper House Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked the government and the Opposition to find a way to end the stalemate.

The Opposition, which has been protesting everyday at the foot of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex, alleged that this was another ploy by the BJP to muzzle their voices.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha at the start of proceedings, the RJD’s Manoj Jha said: “While we accept that they (BJP MPs) should have also sat there, but gate-crashing amounts to taking away the democratic values.”

The 12 suspended Opposition MPs, joined by other leaders, have been sitting on a daily dharna during the duration of the session.

Chairman Naidu iterated his request to the entire House to resolve the deadlock. Rajya Sabha leader Piyush Goyal said the suspended MPs were unwilling to apologise for their behaviour on August 11. “Under these circumstances, what do we talk to the Opposition?”

The BJP MPs who staged the counter-protest came with placards and tried to shout down the 12 Opposition MPs with slogans. Other Opposition MPs joined their suspended colleagues and tried to drown the BJP members’ slogans with counter-slogans. The BJP MPs did not stay on for long and left to attend the proceedings.

About the BJP MPs at their protest site, Shiv Sena’s suspended MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: “…Trying to suppress voices outside too.”

Trinamul’s Dola Sen, one of the two party MPs to be suspended from the Rajya Sabha, tweeted: “Today morning, BJP RS MPs have come to Gandhi Statue in the name of ‘save constitution’ jatra, tried to ransack the dharna of ours. Shame on them. We have to fight to save our country & our Constitution.”

A dozen Rajya Sabha MPs from five parties were suspended on Monday for the entire session over allegations of misconduct during the monsoon session on August 11.

The Opposition has argued that the suspension is not according to the rules of procedure as Rule 256, which has been invoked to suspend them, clearly says that such disciplinary action is valid only till the end of the session when the misdemeanour takes place.