Protest, counterprotests and brawls at Indian Parliament

FE Team | Published: December 20, 2024 00:12:54

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc members during a protest demanding the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks related to BR Ambedkar, in New Delhi on Thursday — PTI

NEW DELHI, Dec 19 (NDTV): Protest, counterprotests and brawls, and an attempt to murder police complaint against Rahul Gandhi - over Amit Shah's "Ambedkar is the fashion" remark - all roiled Parliament Thursday, with the BJP and Congress trading allegations of each using force to prevent rivals from entering the building.
At the epicentre of the maelstrom - which began Monday with fury over Mr Shah's quip about Dr Ambedkar - is an all-out attack by the BJP against Mr Gandhi and his "ego bigger than law".
The jabs were hurled by the BJP's Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj after they were rushed to the Parliament Street Police Station to file a complaint over injuries allegedly inflicted on two colleagues by Mr Gandhi.
The MPs - Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput - were "seriously injured" by Mr Gandhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed, as the government and the opposition began the day with protests outside Parliament's Makar Dawar.
In a sarcastic quip aimed at Mr Gandhi - who holds a black belt in Aikido, a Japanese martial art - he also said, "Have you learnt karate, kung fu, to beat other MPs?" "Parliament is not a wrestling arena," he went on, demanding an apology from Mr Gandhi.
Shortly afterwards the Congress claimed an injury to one of its own; party boss Mallikarjun Kharge wrote saying his knees had been hurt in the protests. And then the trading of allegations escalated - first the BJP's Nagaland MP, Phangnon Konyak, accusing Mr Gandhi of misbehaving with her, and then the Congress' Jebi Mather claimed mistreatment of Priyanka Gandhi and other women MPs from her party.