Parliament adjourned for the day as BJP members, Opposition trade barbs
This story was originally published at 16:26 IST on 19 December 2024
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NEW DELHI - The Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned till Friday due to uproar over separate issues between the Opposition parties and Bharatiya Janata Party members. On the one hand, the Opposition parties sought an apology from Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, and on the other, BJP members sought an apology from Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for allegedly injuring two of its party members.
The BJP claimed that party members Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were injured after they were allegedly pushed by Gandhi. Both have been admitted to hospital in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the Opposition and ruling party members held separate protest marches around the Parliament premises over the Ambedkar issue. When Congress leaders came face to face with ruling party leaders who were protesting near the entrance of the Parliament, a push and shove ensued between the two sides in which BJP leaders Sarangi and Rajput were injured. The BJP later alleged that Gandhi had pushed the two.
BJP's Rajya Sabha member S. Phangnon Konyak alleged that her dignity and self-esteem were deeply hurt by Gandhi. In a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, she alleged that Gandhi came very close to her in the morning which made her very uncomfortable.
Union Minister and Leader of the House J.P. Nadda condemned the morning incident. According to reports, ruling alliance members went to a police station to file a complaint in connection with a scuffle between the ruling and opposition members. A delegation of Congress members also filed a police complaint over alleged misbehaviour with party President Mallikarjun Kharge.
The opposition members, however, rejected the claims made by the BJP. The opposition also termed Konyak's allegations a complete lie. Samajwadi party member Jaya Bachchan and Shiv Sena (UBT) member Priyanka Chaturvedi rejected Konyak's allegations. The opposition members said the BJP is using women members to deviate attention from Shah's remarks on Ambedkar.
Gandhi, in his response, said he was trying to enter the Parliament but BJP leaders tried to stop him. "This is the entrance of the Parliament House, and we have a right to go inside," Gandhi said. Congress leaders also alleged that BJP leaders tried to push party President Kharge and Gandhi. "The BJP members had blocked the entire entrance of the House. When we tried to enter, they pushed us and our President Kharge-ji fell on the ground," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said. The party leaders said that Kharge sustained injuries.
The Congress members also complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about the unruly behaviour by the ruling party members.
Earlier in the day, both the Houses were adjourned till 1400 IST soon after convening amid protests by the Opposition over Home Minister Shah's remarks about Ambedkar. On Tuesday, while participating in the discussion on 75 years of the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha, Shah had said that it has become a fashion to keep taking Ambedkar's name. "It has become a fashion to say 'Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. If they took God's name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven," he said.
The Opposition demanded an apology from the home minister, claiming that his remarks were an insult to Ambedkar.
In the Rajya Sabha, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and Congress leader Randeep Surjewala submitted an adjournment motion under Rule 267 of Parliamentary Procedures for discussion on Shah's remarks. However, Chairman Dhankhar refused to allow the notices. The Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to end on Friday. End
Reported by Kuldeep Singh
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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