Rajya Sabha LIVE | 'Those who burnt copies of Constitution are trying to teach us': Kharge

Several Congress MPs led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a protest in the Parliament premises on Monday, demanding justice for Hindus facing atrocities in Bangladesh and the alleged removal of a photo of Pakistan surrendering to India from the Army headquarters.

Priyanka Gandhi said she had given a notice to talk about Vijay Diwas in the Lok Sabha. The Wayanad MP claimed that after initial approval, she was allegedly told that she could not talk on it as the government would.

"Till then, they did not remember and I guess then they gave a chance to Nishikant Dubey who raised the issue and said something. Then I spoke. I was raising only two issues. First, I wanted to pay tributes to all the martyred soldiers and the people who stood by the Army," she told reporters in the Parliament premises.

"I also wanted to remember Indira Gandhi because of her ability to act decisively. Under her leadership, we fought the war and won," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also raised the issue of atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. The Congress MP asserted that she wanted to say atrocities were being committed against minorities in Bangladesh. "Our government should raise its voice, speak with the Bangladesh government and ensure their security." 

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday tore into the previous Congress-led governments on Article 370, saying the party abdicated its responsibility to the Constitution with regard to Kashmir as the "temporary" provision was made "de-facto permanent" because it "lacked the courage to act".

Speaking on the 'Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India' in Rajya Sabha, Puri, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, slammed the Congress in his speech, which also included references to Kashmiri Pandits and the anti-Sikh riots.

Referring to Article 370, Puri said this was the only provision in the Constitution whose drafting Babasaheb Ambedkar did not oversee. When the Constituent Assembly passed Article 370, then numbered 306A, Ambedkar stayed silent.

Even Sardar Patel was shocked at the leeway given to Sheikh Abdullah and his colleagues, he added.

He said it took the "indomitable courage and resolve" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abrogate this Article of the Constitution which, though "intended to be temporary", was made de facto permanent by appeasement politics", adding that a historic wrong was corrected with the abrogation of Article 370.

Opposition MPs in Rajya Sabha on Monday accused the government of attacking the federal structure and undermining constitutional bodies while claiming that an Emergency-like situation exists in the country.

Participating in a debate on the 75-year journey of the Constitution, Debashish Samantaray, whose party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is not a part of either the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), alleged that Constitutional watchdogs have been converted into "pet-dogs".

"What is the situation today, anyone can be sent to jail, chief ministers were put in jail, denied bail. There is definitely an Emergency in the country, I will say it openly," he said. "The so-called Constitutional watchdogs have become pet dogs, anyone can be behind bars without justification," he said.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale alleged that justice is being denied to people under the NDA government and accused it of destroying the Constitution.

"Injustice has been the hallmark of the Modi government. How will PM Modi defend his record on justice to the 21 lakh MGNREGS workers in Bengal who have worked but haven't been paid in three years because the Modi government has withheld Bengal's dues as his party lost elections," Gokhale said.

"The rapists of Bilkis Bano were released by this government. Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi... numerous others are in jail for speaking against the government... The 750 farmers who died outside the borders of Delhi... People of Manipur who have seen homes burn and family die..., " he said.

DMK's Tiruchi Siva accused the Union government of undermining the federal structure of the country.

He said while there is no explicit term for federalism in the Preamble of the Constitution, the first line says "Bharat, that is India, is a union of states". He said the devolution of funds to Tamil Nadu by the Union government has been declining.

"For every One Rupee that we contribute, we get only 0.29 rupee. Tamil Nadu is performing very well, but we are being victimised by the Union government," he said. Siva also expressed concern over the condition of religious as well as lingual minorities.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday claimed in Lok Saba that a photograph of Pakistan surrendering before India has been removed from the Army headquarters.

In her Zero Hour reference, Priyanka Gandhi said the picture has been removed on Monday, which also happens to be Vijay Diwas.

"Today, that picture has been removed from the Army headquarters where the Pakistan Army is surrendering before the Indian Army," she said.

The Wayanad MP remembered the role of soldiers and martyrs who fought the war of 1971 between India and Pakistan.

Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on December 16 to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. The war also resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh.