Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 20: As the noisy demonstrations by both the ruling and opposition members over the alleged “insult” of the framer of the constitution BR Ambedkar by the union home minister Amit Shah continued, both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die shortly after reconvening amidst the faceoff between the two sides on Friday, the last day of the winter session.
The adjournment of Parliament followed a scathing attack by the ruling party members on the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi who was alleged to have “pushed” two BJP Members of Parliament during a demonstration at the Parliament gate on Thursday causing them head injuries necessitating their hospitalisation. Launching a volley against Rahul Gandhi the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said “pushing around” an MP was not a sign of ‘mardangi’ (masculinity).
He also accused Rahul Gandhi of deliberately stalling the functioning of Parliament while some of the BJP leaders went to the extent of commenting that Mr Gandhi was “not fit” to hold a constitutional position like the LoP in the Lok Sabha. “One man’s agenda is stalling parliament,” Mr Rijiju said singling out the LoP as the “instigator” of the events that unfolded at the gates of the Parliament House. Mr Rijiju also said the incident involving Mr Gandhi, was “avoidable”.
The BJP has filed a first information report (FIR) against Rahul Gandhi over allegedly assaulting two BJP MPs and the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla issued an order banning all kinds of protest demonstrations near the gates of Parliament to avoid similar scuffle that was witnessed on Thursday.
Unprecedented scenes were witnessed on Thursday after the Opposition began protests against Mr Amit Shah who they claimed insulted Dr B R Ambedkar during his speech in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. As both protesting camps clashed on the Parliament premises, the BJP claimed that two of its MPs – Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput – were allegedly pushed by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and sustained injuries.
As such, in a decisive move aimed at maintaining decorum and ensuring the smooth functioning of Parliament, Mr Birla on Thursday issued strict instructions that no political party, Member of Parliament (MP), or groups of MPs will be allowed to hold any dharna (protest) or demonstration at the gates of Parliament House.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary on Friday alleged that none of Rahul Gandhi’s “ideologies or action… are like Ambedkar Ji’s ideology.” Choudhary added that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had “done nothing for deprived and exploited sections.”
Speaking on the Parliament scuffle on Thursday, JMM MP Mahua Maji said the government should make the CCTV footage of the incident public. ” There are CCTVs all around the premises… The government should make the CCTV footage public. These CCTV footages will clearly show who pushed whom, but they will not do that,” she said. The BJP MPs who were hospitalised have claimed that they were pushed by Rahul Gandhi. Responding to the claims, Maji said, “Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi will never do such a thing.”
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra gave a statement, Friday saying, “This is a symbol of desperation of the government. It is a false FIR. Rahul Gandhi cannot push anyone, I am his sister, I know this. Frankly, the country also knows this. The country is watching how desperate they have become because they don’t want discussion on Adani. The country will not tolerate insult of Ambedkar j.”
Rahul Gandhi has been attacking Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani over the US Department of Justice matter linked to directors of Adani Green. The Adani Group has said Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior executive Vineet Jaain are clear of charges. Gautam Adani has said this was not a challenge the group has faced for the first time, adding, “every attack makes us stronger”.
The Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal alleged that the FIR against Rahul Gandhi was a diversionary tactic in response to his staunch protest against Amit Shah’s remarks on B.R. Ambedkar. In a post on X, Mr Venugopal shared, “The FIR against Rahul Gandhi is nothing but a diversionary tactic in response to his staunch protest against the Home Minister. A case against him for defending Babasaheb’s legacy is a badge of honour. In any case, Rahul Gandhi is already facing 26 FIRs due to the BJP’s political vendetta and this latest FIR will not stop him or the Congress from standing up against the casteist RSS-BJP regime.”
“At the same time, why has the Delhi Police not acted on the FIRs filed by women MPs of INC against the BJP leaders who physically assaulted them?”, he asked. Delhi Police on Thursday registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, in connection with alleged violence in Parliament with BJP and Congress filing cross-complaints against each other. Parliament witnessed unprecedented scenes with Opposition and BJP-led NDA members holding parallel protests that later led to a face-off.
Congress leader Manickam Tagore also took to X and added, “Defending Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy is a badge of honour, not a crime. Despite 26 politically motivated FIRs, Rahul ji and the Congress will continue to stand against the casteist RSS-BJP regime.”
Mr Rijiju, however, on the FIR against Rahul Gandhi said it was based on a BJP MP’s complaint. “There are heated exchanges in words in the Parliament. It’s been there since 1952, it’s nothing new. But when an incident leads to injury and a police case, then it’s very unfortunate. The police action is because of the injuries, which led to two MPs being admitted to hospital… It was avoidable, the Leader of Opposition should not get into physical mode.”
Taking a dig on Thursday, the Union Minister had asked Mr Gandhi, who holds a black belt in Aikido, a Japanese martial art form, “Have you learnt karate, kung fu, to beat other MPs?” Asked about this on Friday, Mr Rijiju said, “It is said martial arts are for self-defence. But I believe games, sports and martial arts are for physical well-being and a desire for fitness, not to hit somebody. But Rahul Gandhi coming to the Parliament in t-shirts and pushing around an old, fragile MP, that is not ‘mardangi’ (masculinity). That is not showing that you are a good parliamentarian. Muscle power is not the symbol of a good parliamentarian.”
Mr Gandhi had denied that he had pushed anybody and said that BJP MPs were obstructing him. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had also claimed that he was pushed by BJP MPs and his knees were injured. When Mr Rijiju was asked about this, he said BJP MPs were protesting at the Makar Dwar (main gate) of Parliament and Rahul Gandhi tried to force his way in and pushed people around.
Mr Gandhi had denied that he had pushed anybody and said that BJP MPs were obstructing him. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had also claimed that he was pushed by BJP MPs and his knees were injured. When Mr Rijiju was asked about this, he said BJP MPs were protesting at the Makar Dwar (main gate) of Parliament and Rahul Gandhi tried to force his way in and pushed people around.
“BJP MPs were also there in large numbers which could be intimidating, but they were very careful. Nobody tried to get physical, nobody tried to use force. We did not use our numbers for physical advantage, that is not something that you consider in a parliamentary democracy. Physical numbers are for voting, for running the house… not for hitting opponents. I never thought Rahul Gandhi would get into a physical mode like that. He started pushing around and two of our aged MPs got injured. It’s very sad,” he said.
Pressed about Mr Kharge’s allegations, Mr Rijiju asserted, “He’s not injured. He said his knee had a problem. How can you hit Kharge ji, such an old, respected man. Let us not get into too many things. Two MPs got admitted. They can’t hit themselves, no? Somebody pushed them, Rahul Gandhi pushed them. That is very clear. So, there’s no need to get into a blame game.”
Minutes before the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, the House on Friday adopted a resolution recommending the two bills on holding simultaneous polls to a joint committee of the two Houses.