Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned for the second consecutive day today as commotion continued over the ruling BJP stepping up the pressure for an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his comments in the United Kingdom.

Addressing a presser yesterday, Gandhi had said that he wants to respond to the charges levelled against him by the BJP but isn’t being allowed to speak in the Parliament.

Reports quoting sources said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won’t let the Congress scion speak in the House unless he formally apologises for his remarks.

Chaos continued during the second the leg of the ongoing budget session today in parliament as BJP members pushed for Gandhi’s apology while the opposition parties pressed for their demand of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani-Hindenberg row.

Both sides resorted to loud sloganeering leading to the audio being muted as ruckus ensued and ultimately the parliament was adjourned for the day.

Later, in a tweet in Hindi, reiterating Rahul Gandhi’s claims of microphones of opposition leaders being muted whenever they try talking about an important issue in the parliament, the Congress said: “Earlier only the mic used to be turned off, today even the proceedings of the House were muted. The house is mute for PM Modi’s friend.”

BJP has made it clear that they won’t let Rahul Gandhi speak in the parliament until he apologizes for his remarks on Indian democracy made during his recent London speech. The Wayanad MP arrived the Lok Sabha for the second time today since the row erupted over his comments, but the house was adjourned till next week before any business could be done.

In a tweet, BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla termed Gandhi’s remarks as “egregious and gravely offensive” and demanded that Gandhi should first apologize to the nation before he’s allowed to speak in the Parliament.

Earlier today, BJP chief JP Nadda said that Rahul Gandhi has become a permanent part of the “anti-nationalist toolkit.”

Ruckus erupted outside the Kerala Assembly today as Opposition MLAs of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), staged a protest outside the Speaker’s office and had to be forcibly lifted off the ground by security guards.

Visuals of the incident have surfaced on social media showing the guards forcibly lifting the MLAs who are laying on the ground and refusing to budge outside Speaker AN Shamsheer’s office. The security men finally manage to forcibly lift the MLAs off the ground and out of the building.

Watch the video here:

Speaking to the media, V D Satheesan—Leader of Opposition in the Assembly said four opposition lawmakers— Rema, A K M Ashraf, T V Ibrahim and Saneesh Kumar—were allegedly injured in the incident.

Satheesan lashed out at the Kerala government, claiming it was continuously trampling the democratic rights of the Opposition in the House. “We tried to present the issue of the recent brutal assault faced by a minor girl as an adjournment motion but its notice was denied by the Speaker without any valid reason.”

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The Opposition leader alleged that former Kerala home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was pushed while MLA KK Rema’s hand was twisted and dragged on the floor by four-five women marshals.

Satheesan accused Speaker AN Shamsheer of functioning in a biased manner under pressure from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, adding that CM Vijayan was “terrified of questions” and wants to wind up ongoing Assembly session as fast he can.

The Opposition legislators had staged a protest outside the Speaker’s office after their adjournment motion to discuss the safety of women was turned down. On Tuesday, another adjournment motion to discuss police action against Congress councillors protesting over the Kochi dumpyard fire was also rejected.

Commotion erupted in the house as soon as the Speaker announced that the adjournment motion cannot be taken up as UDF legislators started sloganeering and waving banners against the Vijayan-led government. The lawmakers then walked out of the House and marched to the Speaker’s office where they were blocked by the Watch and Ward staff, who manage security in the state legislature and report to the Speaker.

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Those seeking Rahul Gandhi apology over UK remarks must answer PM Modi’s humiliating comments abroad: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said there is no question of an apology from Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the UK and that those demanding so must answer Prime Minister Narendra Modi “humiliating” the people of the country with his comments abroad.

Talking to reporters in national capital New Delhi, Kharge said he seeks answers from people demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi, about PM Modi “humiliating” the people of India who said that “being born in India is a sin.”  

The Congress president claimed that democracy in the country was “diminishing”, freedom of expression and speech is being throttled and TV news outlets are being pressured while “people speaking the truth are being jailed” … “so if this is not the process of ending democracy then what is?”

Kharge added that there’s no question of an apology from the Congress scion over his comments made during a recent speech in London in which he alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country.

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Gandhi also told British parliamentarians that microphones are often “turned off” in the Lok Sabha when any member of the opposition raises important issues.

The former Congress chief’s scathing comments have sparked outrage among the BJP cadres with members of the saffron party—including top Union Ministers—demanding an apology from Gandhi.

The first two days of the ongoing second leg of the Budget session was rocked by commotion in both Houses of the Parliament as BJP members push for an apology from Gandhi while the Opposition Congress protests the demand leading to adjournment of the House.

On Monday, Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the BJP for demanding an apology from Gandhi for his remarks. Addressing the media after the commotion in the Parliament, Kharge claimed that there’s no place for democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule and rule is law is absent while central agencies are being “misused.”

Kharge accused the ruling BJP of running the country “like a dictatorship” where dissent is muffled, while they trumpet about patriotism and respect… “and then they talk about democracy.”

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