Parliament LIVE: Neither Modi Nor Irani Should Become 'Thekedar' of OBCs, Says Cong's Adhir as BJP Protests; Prep for More Attack, Modi Tells MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who attended the BJP parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday asked the leaders to be ready for a “strong fight” stating that the more the party rises and succeeds, the more will be attacks from the opposition. The BJP parliamentary party meeting took place this morning in the Parliament complex. This was the first time that this meeting has taken place in the ongoing second part of the session.

Amid the escalating controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s recent Savarkar remarks, Hindutva ideologue’s grandson Ranjit Savarkar on Tuesday said a few Congressmen are also not happy with Veer Savarkar being defamed. READ MORE

Amid the ongoing Parliament session, Uddhav Thackeray faction MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said, “We will be with the Opposition. We will abide by whatever decision the Opposition takes. Parliament proceedings are not taking place. The onus lies on the Govt. It doesn’t want the Parliament to function. They want to suppress Opposition’s voice on all the serious issues – on Adani, on Rahul Gandhi, on democracy.”

Launching a fresh attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that his hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi had transformed into an insult to the nation. The minister’s remarks came after the row over Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha after he was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark last week. READ MORE

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said he is “pretending to be brave”. “The house does not belong to him, it belongs to the common people,” she said, over the notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to vacate the government-allotted bungalow, following his Lok Sabha disqualification.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said, “They will make all attempts to weaken him (Rahul Gandhi) but if he vacates the bungalow, he’ll go live with his mother or he can come to me & I’ll vacate one. I condemn the attitude of Govt to scare, threaten & humiliate him. This isn’t the way. Sometimes, we’ve been without a bungalow for 3-4 months. I received my bungalow after 6 months. People do this to humiliate others. I condemn such an attitude.”

The grandson of late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar has sought action against Rahul Gandhi for his comments and also challenged the Congress leader to show documents that prove he had apologised to the British. Gandhi’s “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone” remark has drawn fire from BJP. The former Congress chief made this remark while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha.

BRS MPs moved an adjournment motion in the Parliament today, demanding the tabling and passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill. The MPs in the adjournment motion also request an all-party meeting to discuss the Women Reservation Bill. MLC Kavitha from the BRS party earlier this month sat on a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Congress has called a meeting of its Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs today at the Congress Parliamentary Party office in Parliament at 10:30 am to chalk out the strategy for the Floor of the House.

he BJP condemned the ruckus created by the Opposition in Parliament on Monday and accused the Congress of resorting to “low-level politics” in its bid to justify party leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks against the OBC community. Addressing a press conference on Monday, Union minister Piyush Goyal also questioned the Congress MPs’ behaviour as they turned up in Parliament wearing black clothes and created a ruckus in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The United States is watching ongoing court cases of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a US State Department Spokesperson said on Monday after the disqualification of Wayanad MP following conviction in a defamation case by a Surat court. READ MORE

Congress MP and member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Manish Tewari has written to BJP MP Jayant Sinha, Chairperson of the Committee to suggest that the “Committee should forthwith examine allegations against Adani Group made by Hindenburg Research”. The letter suggests that the Committee summon SEBI, RBI, officials from LIC, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and other regulatory bodies “to ascertain whether there were any failures on their part on the Adani issue.” The letter has also been signed by Congress MPs and members Gaurav Gogoi & Pramod Tiwari.

The confrontation between opposition and government is expected to intensify today over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification in Lok Sabha and notice to vacate his official Delhi residence. The Congress and other opposition parties have accused the BJP-ruled Centre “being in a hurry to target” to target them.

Several opposition parties including Congress, AAP, BRS, Samajwadi Party and others met at Cong President Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence on Monday. They formulated a strategy ahead of Parliament’s session today.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani on Monday called the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP an ‘operation of the law,’ demonstrating that no person was above law in the country. She also charged that Gandhi believed that he was above law after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, following his conviction in a defamation case. “It was made to appear as though it was the central government that disqualified Rahul Gandhi as an MP. It is a directive of the court,” Irani pointed out.

The opposition parties on Monday decided to continue their ‘black’ protest on Tuesday against the BJP-led government over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and “trampling upon democracy in the country” and a final call will be taken in the morning, sources said.