Parliament LIVE | Scuffle, BJP's ploy to divert attention from Adani issues: Rahul
Such a chaotic day in Parliament: Heated arguments, scuffle, complaints, FIRs, and 2 MPs in hospital
The Congress on Thursday (December 19) accused the BJP of diverting attention from the issue of Home Minister Amit Shah's "insult" to BR Ambedkar as well as the Adani issue, and said Shah must resign and apologise for his remarks.
Addressing a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condemned Shah's remarks on Ambedkar and said they would continue to protest across the country.
"The BJP wants to divert attention from Shah's remarks on Ambedkar and that is why they are raising other issues," Kharge told reporters. He said they (Congress leaders) were only demanding the resignation of Home Minister Shah and were protesting "in support of our demands, but the BJP MPs blocked us from entering Parliament". He said they will run a nationwide movement on Ambedkar issue.
Earlier, the row over Shah’s controversial remark on Ambedkar continued on Thursday, 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 two BJP MPs -- Mukesh Rajput and Pratap Chandra Sarangi -- landing in hospital after being injured in the melee. 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.
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.
The other MP Rahul allegedly pushed, who apparently fell on Sarangi, was Mukesh Rajput, BJP MP from UP's Farrukhabad. He reportedly fell unconscious as his blood pressure shot up.
Rahul told reporters in Parliament premises: “I was trying to enter Parliament and the BJP MPs were stopping me, pushing me and threatening me.”
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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Live Updates
- 19 Dec 2024 4:44 PM IST
RS deputy chairman dismisses Opposition notice seeking removal of VP Dhankhar: Sources
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Thursday dismissed the impeachment notice given by the Opposition seeking the removal of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar while ruling it as an act of impropriety, being severely flawed and drawn in haste to mar his reputation, sources said.
In his ruling, which was tabled in the House by Rajya Sabha secretary general P C Mody, the deputy chairman said the impeachment notice is part of a design to denigrate the nation's constitutional institutions and malign the incumbent Vice President, the sources said.
At least 60 opposition members had signed the notice for removal of Dhankhar from his post on December 10, alleging that they did not have trust in him and that he was "biased". The notice was moved by the opposition members under Article 67(b) of the Constitution as intention of a no-confidence motion against the Vice President of India.
The deputy chairman ruled that the gravity of this "personally targeted" notice which is bereft of facts and aimed at securing publicity.
He also held that the notice was a "misadventure" in "deliberate trivialising and demeaning" of the high constitutional office of the Vice President of the largest democracy.
Worrisomely for the prestige of Parliament and its members, the notice is replete with assertions only to malign the incumbent Vice President, the deputy chairman ruled, the sources added.
The deputy chairman in his ruling said the notice invoked Article 67(b) peremptorily mandates 'at least 14 days' prior notice for any resolution contemplating the Vice President's removal.
Thus the December 10, 2024 notice of intention could permit such a resolution only after December 24, 2024, he noted, adding that the current 266th session of the Council of States, as notified on November 6, 2024, commenced on November 25 and is scheduled to conclude on December 20, 2024, as known to all signatories.
In full know of the situation that the resolution cannot be brought during this session, this was initiated only to set a narrative against second highest constitutional office and the Vice President, the deputy chairman said in his ruling.
