Parliament LIVE | BJP MP injured in scuffle; Kharge submits privilege motion against Shah
While the Opposition demands an apology and resignation of Shah, the latter has been supported by PM Modi and other top BJP leaders
The row over Amit Shah’s controversial remark on BR Ambedkar continued on Thursday (December 19), with Congress president and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge submitting a privilege notice against Shah, both the ruling NDA and Opposition MPs holding protests within the parliament premises, and an MP landing in hospital after allegedly being pushed by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi.
Trouble began when INDIA bloc members insisted on entering Parliament through the BJP MPs holding a protest instead of using the space left empty on one side of the staircase of the Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building. Pratap Chandra Sarangi (69), former minister and a BJP MP from Odisha’s Balasore, suffered injuries on the left temple of his forehead as he fell in the melee.
Also watch: Amit Shah’s ‘Ambedkar’ remark adds fuel to Congress’s Constitution narrative
Exchange of allegations
The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a charge he rejected. “Are you not ashamed Rahul? You are resorting to rowdy behaviour (gundagardi). You pushed an old man,” a furious Nishikant Dubey charged. “He pushed me,” Rahul retorted, walking off after having a cursory look at Sarangi, who was being attended to by fellow BJP members.
Sarangi was later wheeled off to an ambulance and taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for treatment. “Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP, who fell on me and I got injured,” he told reporters as BJP members squatted at the Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Congress.
“I was trying to enter Parliament and the BJP MPs were stopping me, pushing me and threatening me,” Rahul told reporters in Parliament premises.
Also read: Amit Shah's remarks reflective of BJP's 'old mentality': B R Ambedkar's grandson
Rijiju promises “appropriate action”
Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi later met Sarnagi in hospital. Chouhan told TV reporters that Sarangi received a few stitches to stop the bleeding. “Appropriate action will be taken after examining the injuries suffered by Sarangi,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said.
Congress MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted a complaint against the alleged unruly conduct of BJP MPs against Rahul Gandhi and stopping him from entering the Parliament. In the letter, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed he was pushed by BJP MPs, lost his balance and was forced to sit on the ground, injuring his knees that have already undergone surgery.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned following noisy protests by the Opposition seeking an apology from Shah for his remarks on Ambedkar.
Also read: Stalin takes veiled swipe at BJP, PM for attacking Congress, Ambedkar
Privilege notice against Shah in RS
Earlier, dressed in blue, a colour associated with Ambedkar, INDIA bloc MPs, including Kharge and Rahul, staged a protest in the Parliament premises demanding Shah’s resignation for his remarks on the chief architect of the Constitution.
BJP-led NDA parliamentarians also carried out protests within Parliament premises, raising slogans and carrying placards demanding an apology from the opposition Congress for allegedly insulting Ambedkar.
During the day, Kharge also submitted a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks against Ambedkar. In his notice submitted to the RS Chairman, Kharge alleged that the remarks were an insult to the architect of the Constitution and amounted to breach of privilege and contempt of the House.
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Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has reportedly written a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that he “was pushed by BJP MPs and forced to sit down on the ground”.
Kharge, in his letter, wrote, “This inflicted an injury on my knees, which have undergone surgery.”
He said his colleagues brought a chair and he was made to sit on it. He said he limped to the House with great difficulty and with the support of his colleagues at 11 am.
There was a physical confrontation between MPs from the BJP and opposition MPs in the Parliament premises on Thursday (December 19).
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday (December 19) slammed the Congress, alleging it has always hated BR Ambedkar and had even included a cartoon in an NCERT textbook showing Jawaharlal Nehru "whipping" Ambedkar.
He claimed that the "crocodile tears" of the Congress over Ambedkar are just pretence.
"Suddenly the Congress has got a lot of respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar. These crocodile tears of the Congress for Babasaheb are just a pretence, there is a huge difference between their words and actions. The Congress party's hatred and contempt for Babasaheb is well known,” Pradhan wrote in a post on X.
The Union Education Minister said that during the rule of the Congress-led UPA-2 government, a shameful cartoon was included in the NCERT textbook for Class 11 in 2012 in which Pandit Nehru was shown "whipping" Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"After strong opposition from BJP, then Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal apologised and announced to withdraw it.
The Union education minister said, "These corrupt people who give themselves 'Bharat Ratna' have never given proper respect to Babasaheb and when the Honorable Prime Minister Modi Ji is giving a grand honour to Babasaheb Ambedkar Ji, the Congress party is unable to digest it. The Congress party, which makes political gains in the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar, takes his name only out of compulsion, while the truth is that the entire Congress party, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rahul Gandhi, has always hated Babasaheb," added Pradhan.