BJP MP Pratap Sarangi was taken to hospital after getting injured in the melee
New Delhi: The relationship between Opposition and the Treasury benches hit a new low on Thursday (December 19, 2024) with both sides accusing each other of resorting to violence. While the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged that BJP MPs were pushing him and stopping him and other Opposition MPs from entering Parliament, the BJP accused Mr. Gandhi of assaulting two of their MPs.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Mr. Gandhi of assaulting and injuring two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Mr. Sarangi and Mr. Rajput and enquired about their health after they sustained injuries in the Parliament complex, sources said.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also accused Mr. Gandhi of resorting to “goondagardi” (hooliganism). Mr. Rijiju said that appropriate action will be taken. “Parliament is not a place to show physical strength. It is not a wrestling ring,” Mr. Rijiju added.Mr. Sarangi was taken to hospital after getting injured in the melee when the protesting INDIA bloc and the BJP MPs came face to face in front of Makar Dwar in Parliament.The BJP/NDA protests were a counter to INDIA bloc protests over Home Minister Amit Shah’s reference to Ambedkar. INDIA bloc MPs took out a march within the Parliament complex, demanding Mr. Shah’s apology and resignation.Amid these allegations and counter allegations, the Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned within a minute after obituary references.BJP MPs were pushing me: Rahul“I was trying to enter Parliament and the BJP MPs were stopping me, pushing me and threatening me,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters in Parliament premises.Asked if Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi had also been pushed, Mr. 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,” he alleged and pointed to the Makar Dwar.Mr. Gandhi said the central issue is that they are attacking the Constitution and insulting the memory of Ambedkar.The protesting INDIA bloc MPs also came face to face with demonstrating BJP MPs in front of Makar Dwar of Parliament as the two sides engaged in loud sloganeering in a bid to outdo each other and a melee ensued as the MPs were moving towards the steps to go inside Parliament building.Kharge asks LS Speaker to order inquiry into BJP MPs ‘pushing’ himMeanwhile, Congress President and LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, accusing BJP MPs of pushing him and asked Mr. Birla to conduct an inquiry.“When I reached Makar Dwar along with the INDIA parties MPs, I was physically pushed by BJP MPs. Thereafter, I lost my balance and was forced to sit down on the ground in front of Makar Dwar. This inflicted on my knees which have already undergone surgery,” the letter read.“I urge you to order an inquiry into this incident which is an assault not just on me personally but on the Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha and the Congress President,” Mr. Kharge added.(With inputs from PTI)
Comments are closed.