NEW DELHI: On Thursday, BJP Members of Parliament confronted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he went to speak with Pratap Chandra Sarangi, who had been injured after a clash with MPs from the INDIA bloc outside Parliament.
Footage showed an angry response from BJP MPs as Rahul approached Sarangi shortly after the incident to check on his well-being. “Aren’t you embarrassed, Rahul? You engage in hooliganism… you pushed the elderly man down,” BJP MP Nishikant Dubey remarked to Rahul. Rahul countered by stating that he had not shoved anyone and asserted that it was actually the other way around before departing. “It might be caught on camera.
BJP MPs prevented us from entering Parliament. They blocked and threatened us. It’s our right to protest,” Rahul explained.
A commotion broke out outside Parliament following claims by BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had pushed an MP, leading to his injury.
In response to the accusations, Rahul argued that he was the one obstructed and pushed by BJP MPs while attempting to enter the Parliament premises. The altercation occurred when the protesting INDIA bloc and BJP MPs confronted each other in front of Makar Dwar at Parliament.
Separately, Kharge wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker asking for an investigation into the incident. The Congress leader asserted that he had been “physically pushed by BJP MPs.” He added that as a result, he lost his balance and was “forced to sit down.”
“I was physically pushed by BJP MPs. After that, I lost my balance and had to sit down on the ground in front of Makar Dwar. This caused injury to my knees, which have already had surgery. Subsequently, Congress MPs provided a chair for me to sit,” Kharge detailed in his letter.
The opposition amplified its protests, demanding the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah with demonstrations in the Parliament complex, displaying banners that read, ‘Main Bhi Ambedkar’, ‘Jai Bhim’, and ‘Amit Shah maafi maango’.
Rahul, leading the protest, was dressed in blue, a color associated with BR Ambedkar, and conducted a march to the Makar Dwar of Parliament. Amid the constant chanting calling for the resignation of the Union home minister, some MPs from the INDIA bloc attempted to climb the wall at the Makar Dwar.
In response, the BJP labeled Congress as “hypocrites who have murdered democracy” in the country. The party additionally claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the one who “honored Ambedkar’s last-mile delivery policy,” accusing the longstanding party of “misusing” Ambedkar’s name. Party chief JP Nadda criticized the “Congress rotten eco-system” and asserted that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru “harbored hatred” for Ambedkar, stating, “Yes, it was unfiltered hate,” in a post on X.
