As BJP leaders attack Pandit Nehru, Congress returns the fire by targeting Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar. It all ends in a scuffle on the steps of parliament. Why is the mood so bitter at the center of Indian democracy?
Our Bureau
New Delhi
In an unprecedented incident in the history of Indian Parliament, a scuffle broke out between the ruling alliance and Opposition MPs as both sides staged parallel protests on Thursday following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar. BJP-led NDA and INDIA bloc MPs had staged a protest in Parliament premises and there was a face off in which BJP leaders said two MPs were injured.
Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi on Thursday visited BJP MPs Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput at RML Hospital after they sustained injuries during a clash with INDIA Alliance MPs outside Makar Dwar in Parliament.
Following the visit, Chouhan slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party for their alleged misconduct during the clash in Parliament, calling it a “black day in Parliamentary history.”
Speaking to reporters, Chouhan said, “Decorum has been torn apart. Democracy has been shredded and sullied. There is no other example like that of the hooliganism of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. Such conduct was never seen in the Parliamentary history of India.”
Expressing further disappointment, he said, “I am sad… Amit Shah’s speech exposed Congress… They are so frustrated with it that they have stooped to hooliganism now. We condemn this hooliganism.”
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that Congress MPs, led by Rahul Gandhi, physically assaulted BJP MPs during a protest at the Makar Dwar entry gate of Parliament. Rijiju said, “While the NDA MPs were protesting… the Congress MPs led by Rahul Gandhi came and assaulted, pushed two MPs of the BJP… Pratap Singh Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput have sustained grievous injury.”
But accusing the BJP of being “anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that BJP MPs tried to stop them while they were trying to enter Parliament premises after their protest and claimed that the ruling party is using such tactics to divert attention from the Adani issue and Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks pertaining to BR Ambedkar.
Addressing a joint press conference with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, accused the ruling party MPs of deliberately obstructing the Opposition’s efforts to raise issues in Parliament.
“A few days before the Parliament session, the Adani case came up in America and the BJP tried to stop the discussion on it. The basic strategy of the BJP was that there should be no discussion on the Adani case, it should be suppressed. The main issue started with a case against Adani in the US. BJP’s strategy was that this issue should not be discussed in the House. After that Amit Shah’s statement came. We say that the BJP and the RSS are anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitutional, their Home Minister said that directly in the House,” he said.
“We were going to the House; their MPs were standing at the gate to stop us. The Home Minister should resign and apologize. The government wants to divert attention. The main issue is that Modiji’s friend Adani has a case against him in the US, he does not want a discussion on this,” Rahul Gandhi added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi continued to demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, claiming that there has been an “Akraman on Samvidhan” (Full on attack on Constitution) and that that the Bharatiya Janata Party, PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah did a grave mistake insulting B R Ambedkar.
Posting about the remarks in his accounts on his social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram), Gandhi said, “BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have committed the biggest mistake of their lives by attacking the Constitution and insulting Baba Saheb. India will not forgive this mistake. The Home Minister should apologize and resign.”
Gandhi also highlighted a speech of his parliament, comparing it as a fight between Manusmriti and the Constitution, saying that one side defends the constitution. “It is written in the Constitution, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race, caste, religion and place of birth…There is a battle taking place today in India. This side (pointing to his MPs) are the defenders of the idea of the Constitution,” he had said in his speech in Parliament.
Earlier, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, in connection to a scuffle that took place in Parliament. The tensions had erupted when members of the opposition and the ruling parties held parallel protests. During the protests, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that he was pushed, and two BJP members were injured during the incident. Multiple Congress leaders have condemned the FIR against Gandhi, calling it a diversionary tactic from Shah’s comments.
In response, multiple BJP MPs have demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi as the winter session of the Parliament concluded on Friday. Both Houses were adjourned Sine Die after uproarious scenes.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday stated that the FIR against Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was just a drama enacted by the BJP to distract from the real issues at hand. “For us, Parliament’s productivity was 100 per cent because today the entire country knows what the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi think about Dr Ambedkar. We assess the Parliament’s productivity by the intention of the government. Union Home Minister has insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Ramesh said.
He asserted that Union Ministers including Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman cannot prove their allegations against former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made two days ago. “I have complained to the Chairman (Rajya Sabha) that it has been 72 hours since Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman), (JP) Nadda Saheb and Union Home Minister made allegations against Pandit Nehru which could not be authenticated. They won’t be able to authenticate it,” the Congress leader added.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs on Friday protested against the remarks of Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar. The MPs stood together with a picture of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and chanted Jai Bhim in front of his statute. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mentioned that the party has opposed to comments of Ambedkar.
In a related development, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its MPs who were protesting against her party for allegedly insulting Dr Ambedkar, challenging them to chant the slogan “Jai Bhim” in the Parliament premises. Vadra said that people should not remain confused that the BJP was protecting the Constitution since the language used by Union Home Minister Amit Shah was reflective of their reality.
“We protest daily from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Nothing has happened till now. This is all a conspiracy. We asked those who were stopping us to chant ‘Jai Bhim’…We didn’t say anything. We kept chanting slogans for our constitution. If the people of this country think that these people are protecting the constitution, they should not remain confused since Amit Shah’s language has exposed their reality. They can’t even say Jai Bhim. I challenge them to say Jai Bhim here,” Vadra told reporters.
She came out in defense of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi amid allegations of “physical assault.” Vadra said that her brother was peacefully going inside the Parliament when BJP MPs stopped him.
“Rahul (Gandhi) was peacefully going inside the Parliament while holding BR Ambedkar’s photograph and chanting the ‘Jai Bhim’ slogan. Who stopped him from going to the Parliament? We have been protesting for so many days and there is always space left for those who are going inside and outside,” Vadra, who is the Congress MP from Wayanad, said.
On the last day of the Winter Session, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed his dismay over repeated disruption in the Parliamentary proceedings saying that the Parliament failed to fulfil its responsibilities and let the people of the country down.
“To my mind, Parliament is a forum for debate, discussion, and disagreements certainly but not for disruption. There was an agreement reached between the Government and the Opposition in the first week that the Opposition could protest outside but inside work would continue. It went on for 2-3 days. But thereafter, we ended up once again with a complete breakdown. I think that was very unfortunate. I really hope that the Govt reaches out to the Opposition and finds a solution. So that in an objective way, we can all get on with the work of the House,” he said.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Friday amid protests over Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar. The Winter Session 2024 of Parliament began on November 25, and concluded on December 20, with a lot of bitterness on both sides.
