Parliament LIVE | Delhi police book Rahul Gandhi for scuffle in House
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.
Meanwhile, a case has been filed against Rahul Gandhi for the scuffle in Parliament, in a late-night development. (Details below in our Live)
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
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Live Updates
- 19 Dec 2024 2:50 PM IST
Kharge pushed, Rahul manhandled: Congress complaint to Om Birla
Accusing the BJP of lowering the dignity of Parliament, the Congress on Thursday claimed that BJP MPs pushed its chief Mallikarjun Kharge and “manhandled” Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, senior Congress MPs asked him to initiate an inquiry into the incident.
Several Congress leaders, including Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Gogoi and KC Venugopal, spoke on the matter. The Congress said BJP MPs had sticks in their hands and Kharge was threatened and pushed. Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote to Birla, claiming he was physically pushed by BJP MPs in Parliament premises following which he lost his balance.
“I was physically pushed by BJP MPs; lost my balance and was forced to sit down on ground in front of Makar Dwar... This inflicted injuries on my knees which have already undergone surgery,” Kharge said.
Kharge asked the speaker to order an inquiry into the BJP MPs “pushing” him, and said it was an assault not just on him but on the Rajya Sabha LoP and the Congress president. “I was trying to enter Parliament and the BJP MPs were stopping me, pushing me and threatening me,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters in Parliament premises.
Asked if Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi had also been pushed, Rahul Gandhi said, “It has happened but we don’t get bothered with this pushing around. This is the entry to Parliament; we have a right to go inside and the BJP members were stopping us from going inside.”
In their letter to Birla, some senior Congress MPs said they were writing to express their “deep anguish” over the incident that happened when members of the INDIA bloc were peacefully protesting and marching from the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue to Makar Dwar. “However, as we attempted to enter the Parliament through Makar Dwar, the protesting MPs were physically obstructed from entering,” said the letter signed by Congress MPs KC Venugopal, Kodikunnil Suresh, Ravindra Chavan Dean Kuriakose, and VK Sreekandan.
“We would also like to bring to your notice that Shri Rahul Gandhi Leader of Opposition was physically manhandled by three MPs from the ruling party. This is a clear violation of the privileges extended to the Leader of Opposition and infringes on the rights accorded to him in his official capacity as an MP,” they said.
Their conduct was not only a blatant assault on the personal dignity of Rahul Gandhi, but antithetical to the democratic spirit of our parliament, the letter said.
The MPs expressed the hope that the speaker would treat this matter with utmost seriousness and take appropriate action.
- 19 Dec 2024 2:41 PM IST
Congress women MPs plan to file FIR against BJP MPs
Congress women MPs also plan on filing an FIR against BJP MPs for assaulting them during the protests this morning.
