Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad
On the second day of the Monsoon session on Tuesday, Congress staged a walkout of the Rajya Sabha following remarks from Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi that the BJP was given the mandate to rule as BSP chief Mayawati raised the issue of attacks on the Dalit and minorities communities. Demanding time to address the matter in the House, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister threatened to resign from Rajya Sabha and later stormed out of the House.
Objecting to Naqvi’s remark, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that BJP was not given a mandate to protect the poor farmers, minorities and Dalit population. “When Mayawati tried to talk, she was told that we have got the mandate. We did not know the BJP has got the mandate to massacre minorities and Dalits. We are not with this government,” Azad said before walking out of the House followed by other Congress leaders.
The House was adjourned after the chaos till noon by Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien. Later, it was adjourned till 3 pm. Mayawati, who alleged that the Centre is targeting Dalit, while speaking at the Rajya Sabha, spoke to the media and said that she will resign from Rajya Sabha as she was not allowed to raise concerns of the minorities people in the House. “When I tried speaking about the weaker sections today in the Rajya Sabha, I was not allowed to speak. Why? It’s a shame. If I can’t speak about our weaker sections in the House then I have no right to stay in the House. This is the reason I have decided to quit from Rajya Sabha, I am not being heard, not allowed to speak,” the BSP Chief said.
