Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other members protest against the Delhi violence in the Parliament premises on Monday. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
The second leg of the Budget session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Monday, with BJP and Congress MPs pushing and shoving each other as the Opposition strongly protested the violence in northeast Delhi last week and demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah.
The scuffle ensued after some Congress MPs tried to bring a huge banner demanding the resignation of Amit Shah inside the Lok Sabha as the House proceedings resumed at 2 pm. Opposition members flashed placards also that read ‘Save India’, ‘No more hate’, ‘BJP sarkar dangoon ki sarkar‘ and ‘Stop hate speech’.
The Congress members went near the Treasury benches carrying a black banner even as Speaker Om Birla continued with proceedings and appealed to the MPs to maintain decorum. “It is important that MPs maintain decorum in the temple of democracy in the country,” Birla said.
TMC MPs protest against Delhi violence during the first day of Parliament. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
However, the Congress MPs dug in their heels and soon BJP members, including many from the back benches, rushed towards the Well of the House leading to a minor scuffle. This prompted the Speaker to adjourn proceedings in the Lok Sabha.
The violence that rocked northeast areas of Delhi last week — Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar, and Mustafabad — has left at least 46 dead and over 200 injured.
AAP members protest inside the Parliament premises on Monday. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
In Rajya Sabha too proceedings were adjourned for the day after MPs from Congress, AAP, Left, TMC, SP, BSP, and DMK raised slogans accusing the government of failing in its duty.
Some Opposition members also protested inside the House wearing black blindfolds, prompting deputy chairman Harivansh to remove them, saying these were against the decorum. However, the members were unrelenting and protests continued.
BJP’s chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal said the scuffle happened when Congress members approached his seat holding a banner to obstruct him from speaking. Jaiswal said Congress members approached him aggressively and placed the placard in front of his face, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Ramya Haridas claimed she was assaulted by a BJP woman MP inside the Lower House and sought immediate action over the matter. She also lodged a complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, PTI reported. “On March 2, at 3 PM, inside Lok Sabha, I was physically assaulted by MP Jaskaur Meena (BJP parliamentarian from Rajasthan),” Haridas said in her complaint.
(With PTI inputs)