Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, other leaders protest in Parl complex over K'taka, Goa crisis

New Delhi: Congress MPs held a protest against the ruling BJP in Parliament on Thursday over the political crisis which has hit the party in Karnataka and Goa.

A number of top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Anand Sharma, protested near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex and shouted slogans. They also carried placards with messages like "Save Democracy".

The Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka is in the turmoil after several MLAs, mostly of the Congress, resigned from the Assembly, threatening the stability of the ruling dispensation. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the Karnataka government has been reduced to a minority and has demanded Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's resignation.

In Goa, the Congress suffered a serious setback on Wednesday as 10 of its 15 MLAs quit the party and joined the BJP. The Congress leadership has blamed the saffron party for the desertions from its ranks in both the states.