Parliament Winter Session: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar delivered a stern message to the lawmakers on Friday as the Parliament Winter Session’s final week witnessed widespread chaos over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark on and Dr BR Ambedkar.
Parliament witnessed disruptions amid a showdown between the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc, with both sides holding protests and counter-protests while trading accusations of insulting the Constitution’s maker.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha as part of his concluding remark for the winter session, Dhankhar said, “The world watches our democracy. Yet we fail our citizens through our conduct. These Parliamentary disruptions mock public trust and expectations. Our fundamental duty to serve with diligence lies neglected.”
‘Chaos Over Dialogue’
Dhankhar further urged the parliamentarians to examine their conscience and noted that the citizens of the democratic country deserve better than what they witnessed in the winter session.
“Where reasoned dialogue should prevail, we witness only chaos. I urge every Parliamentarian, regardless of party, to examine their conscience,” said Dhankhar, adding “The citizens of our democracy – one-sixth of humanity– deserve better than this spectacle.”
Significantly, the opposition parties filed a no-trust motion against Dhankhar in the recently concluded winter session. It was later rejected on procedural grounds, according to officials.
Opposition Raises Charge
The Congress and other alliance parties staged a massive protest against the BJP, demanding resignation and apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly “insulting” Ambedkar in his speech during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha.
“They (BJP) know that their true sentiments for Ambedkar ji have come out. So, they are now scared of the Opposition because we are raising this issue. National interest is related to this matter. Our Constitution has been given by Ambedkar ji, the people of this country and our freedom struggle. Such insult to him will not be tolerated by India,” Vadra said.
It comes a day after dramatic scenes unfolded near the main entry gate of the parliament. Two BJP MPs were hospitalised after they reportedly suffered head injuries after a scuffle erupted between the BJP and Congress leaders.
A case has been filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, with the BJP accusing him of “physical assault and incitement” during a scuffle in the Parliament premises.
BJP Hits Back
In a sharp response to the opposition front, the BJP accused the Congress of the alleged “assault” of two of its MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput. MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that he had seen Rahul Gandhi “climbing up” the Makar Dwar and pushing the BJP MPs, during which they suffered injuries.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju batted away the Congress’ demands for Shah to quit and said, “It is the Congress that should apologise… it is not left with anything to say so they have resorted to manhandling. Our MPs say there should be police action against Rahul Gandhi.”
The injury to the BJP’s Sarangi, visuals of which showed him with a bandage on his head and being taken in an ambulance – and the hospitalisation of Rajput, gave ammo to the BJP to counterattack Congress on their Ambedkar charge.
Ambedkar Row: What Did Amit Shah Say?
The Ambedkar row erupted after Amit Shah gave his reply in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the four-day debate on the Constitution.
“It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If they took God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven,” Shah said.
The remarks quickly escalated a protest by the opposition front, who described it as an insult to the maker of the Constitution. The BJP countered, saying that the opposition tweaked Shah’s remark to disrupt the Parliament proceedings.
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