Lok Sabha Speaker Bans Protests at Parliament Gates After MPs’ Scuffle
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Unprecedented scenes were witnessed as protests and counterprotests by BJP and Opposition leaders inside Parliament over Ambedkar row led to injuries to two BJP MPs.
The Congress and other opposition parties have seized on a part of Shah’s reference to Ambedkar in his Rajya Sabha speech on Tuesday to target the BJP and demand his resignation. (Photo: PTI)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has issued strict instructions that no member/members, group of members or political parties and Members shall hold demonstrations at any of the building gates of Parliament House, sources.
This came after two BJP MPs got injured during a face-off between NDA and INDIA bloc members during their protests at Makar Dwar of Parliament House.
The nation witnessed unprecedented scenes as rival MPs screamed and shoved in the forecourt of Parliament on Thursday. A BJP’s woman Rajya Sabha MP accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi “misbehaving” with her.
An FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi based on the complaint by BJP leaders for “attempt to murder, physical assault and incitement”.
The sordid incident perhaps without parallel started in the morning as BJP and opposition MPs marched towards each other over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on Ambedkar. As the two groups came closer, tempers and voices rose, soon resulting in a melee.
Injury Vs Injury Claim
Soon after BJP claimed that two of its MLAs were injured seriously in the scuffle, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he too was pushed so violently that he lost his balance and sat down. “Now they are the ones who are accusing us of shoving them,” Kharge said.
However, the more apparent injuries were sustained by BJP’s Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, 69, who had to get stitches in the temple. His colleague Mukesh Rajput was also injured in the head. However, Congress vehemently denied the charges.
Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Rahul Gandhi and the others were protesting peacefully, but were prevented from entering Parliament by BJP MPs carrying “sticks”. The BJP MPs were seen carrying placards pinned to sticks.
“BJP MPs stopped, threatened and intimidated me,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress also filed a complaint against the BJP in the Parliament House police station.
Both sides also complained to the respective Chairs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha against each other.
BJP Woman MP Accused Rahul Gandhi Of Making Her ‘Uncomfortable’
Speaking in Rajya Sabha, BJP MP from Nagaland S Phangnon Konyak alleged that Gandhi came in her “close proximity” and shouted at her during the protest outside the Parliament’s Makar Dwar which made her feel “extremely uncomfortable”.
In a letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman, she claimed that Rahul Gandhi along with other party MPs came in front of her despite there being a passage created for them by security personnel.
“He misbehaved with me in a loud voice and his physical proximity to me was so close that I being a lady member felt extremely uncomfortable… I belong to the ST community and I am a lady member. My dignity and self-esteem have been deeply hurt by LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. Therefore, Hon’ble Chairman sir, I seek your protection,” she wrote.
