New Delhi: Disputing the BJP’s charge that Rahul Gandhi caused injuries to two of its MPs during an unprecedented showdown in the Parliament premises Thursday, the Congress has alleged that “stick-wielding” legislators of the ruling party pushed Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, to the ground in front of the entrance to the House and “physically manhandled” Rahul Gandhi.
Kharge raised the matter in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying the alleged act of the BJP MPs made him lose balance and get hurt on his knees, which have “already undergone surgery”. He sought an inquiry into the incident, which, he said, was “an assault not just on me personally but on the Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha and the Congress President”.
Dramatic visuals from the Parliament Thursday showed Bharatiya Janata Party MPs shouting at Gandhi for allegedly pushing BJP’s Pratap Sarangi, who sat cupping his forehead. Gandhi walked up to him briefly. Then, he walked off, accusing Sarangi of pushing him instead.
Kharge later wrote to Birla: “When I reached Makar Dwar along with the INDIA parties MPs, I was physically pushed by BJP MPS. Thereafter, I lost my balance and was forced to sit down on the ground in front of Makar Dwar. This inflicted injury on my knees which have already undergone surgery. Subsequently, Congress MPs brought a chair and I was made to sit on it. With great difficulty and with the support of my colleagues, I limped to the House at 11 am.”
Separately, a group of INDIA bloc MPs also wrote to Birla, flagging the alleged assault of Gandhi. “Leader of Opposition was physically manhandled by three MPs from the ruling party. This is a clear violation of the privileges extended to the Leader of Opposition and infringes on the rights accorded to him in his official capacity as an MP,” they wrote.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal alleged that Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, was also prevented and pushed from entering the House by members of the BJP who “blocked the entrance” despite instructions from the Speaker not to do so.
Sharing its version of the sequence of events, the Congress claimed that the scuffle was essentially a result of the “blockade” mounted by the BJP MPs as members of the INDIA bloc of parties sought to enter the House after winding up their dharna and protests in the Parliament premises against Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B.R. Ambedkar.
“Today, after our peaceful dharna at Prerna Sthal and a walk around Samvidhan Sadan carrying posters, we were shocked to witness BJP MPs blocking entrances with sticks attached to posters. Strangely, no security guards were present despite this being a total violation of the Hon’ble Speaker’s directives. In a disgraceful turn of events, the stick-wielding BJP MPs pushed the Congress President, a senior and respected leader, while the LOP in Lok Sabha was also prevented and pushed from entering the House,” a statement issued by Venugopal said.
Venugopal said the allegations against Gandhi, and the “farcical drama in the Parliament” were aimed at diverting people’s attention from the outcry over Shah’s remarks. He described it as a grand display of the BJP’s “Save Ambedkar-virodhi Amit Shah mission”.
“No theatrics or trickery will save them from accountability for the disrespectful comments made by Amit Shah against Babasaheb Ambedkar. We will take this issue to the streets across the country until the Home Minister steps down for his remarks,” he added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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