Rahul Gandhi does not deserve to be Leader of Opposition, says BJP slamming his conduct against its MPs

NEW DELHI: Accusing Rahul Gandhi of “pushing and shoving” its MPs on the Parliament premises, the BJP on Thursday said he does not deserve to be the Leader of Opposition after such "indecent and shameful" conduct.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters hours after unprecedented scenes of unruliness unfolded during protests by the ruling and opposition parties, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan squarely put the blame on Gandhi for the fracas which left two MPs injured.

"Rahul Gandhi does not deserve to hold the post of the Leader of Opposition," Chouhan said as he slammed the Congress leader's behaviour and alleged it is against India’s cultural ethos.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, has rejected the BJP's charge that he pushed its lawmakers and alleged that the ruling party MPs "stopped, threatened and intimidated" him.

Chouhan said that the party was also pained at the treatment meted out to its tribal MP from Nagaland S Phangnon Konya, who alleged in the Rajya Sabha that Rahul Gandhi shouted at her after coming in "close proximity" that made her feel uncomfortable during a demonstration outside the Parliament's Makar Dwar.

“Will physical strength be used in Parliament? Will musclemen and goondas come to Parliament? In which direction is the Congress taking the country’s democracy?” said the BJP leader, who was flanked by Union Minister Piyush Goyal and party MPs Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni.

BJP MPs -- Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput -- were injured in the melee and hospitalised as BJP and opposition MPs allegedly marched towards each other minutes before the start of the parliamentary proceedings.

“What happened in Parliament today is unimaginable,” Chouhan said as he accused Gandhi of pushing the BJP members, terming his conduct as “indecent, impudent and goondagardi”.

Such kind of behaviour cannot be imagined in a civilised society, he said.

Chouhan claimed that when the BJP MPs were protesting, Gandhi “deliberately” approached them and insisted on passing through them instead of using the space left on one side of the staircase of the Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building.

He did this despite the security personnel requesting him to use the space left for the parliamentarians' entry, the minister charged.

“Our elderly, poor, decent and disciplined MP Pratap Sarangi fell and sustained a serious injury in the head. He is admitted to ICU and undergoing treatment. Mukesh Rajput was unconscious when I went to see him,” he said.

Chouhan said people elect their leaders to Parliament with the hope that they will put forth their issues “with facts and logic”. “But the Congress is changing it,” he said and asked, “Will physical strength be used in Parliament?"

Gandhi’s behaviour was not just indecent but “shameful”, he said.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that he was pushed violently by the BJP MPs due to which he lost his balance and his knees were injured.

Addressing a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi also alleged that the BJP is indulging in distraction and said they would continue to protest across the country over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar.

Chouhan hit out at Kharge, terming his accusations against the BJP MPs as “lies”.

“Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a press conference. I was thinking that they would apologise for the sin they committed in Parliament but they didn’t do so…Their arrogance was visible at their press conference,” he said.

The BJP leader also condemned the opposition members’ protest in the Lok Sabha, alleging that the Congress and its allies in the opposition INDIA bloc “crushed” the Constitution and “ripped democracy into smithereens” with their behaviour in the Lower House.

“Congress members in Lok Sabha broke all limits. They went up to the Speaker’s Chair, crushing its dignity... the country cannot forgive them for this,” he charged.

Union minister Piyush Goyal also Gandhi, saying he neither apologised to Sarangi after he was “grievously injured” nor cared to rush him to hospital for treatment.

“The way he tried to hurt Sarangi grievously, he should not only apologise but also repent," he said.