A political confrontation erupted in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday after Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that he had been treated as an “untouchable” and insulted, and a ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) ceremony was held at the venue where he addressed a rally in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. Union Minister and Leader of the House JP Nadda countered this and said the BJP did not subscribe to such practices and assured that the matter would be investigated.
Responding in the House, Kharge said he did not want to turn the issue into a political controversy, but stressed that he had never sought special treatment on the basis of his caste.
“I do not want to make this a political issue. I have been in this House for years. I belong to the Scheduled Caste, and I am a Dalit. Help me and protect me; I have never pleaded this before anyone,” Kharge said.
He said he had the strength to stand up for himself but objected to what he described as discriminatory treatment. “I have the strength to fight and I do fight. But you treat me as untouchable, perform ‘purification’, and insult me,” Kharge said.
Kharge’s remarks came amid a controversy over allegations of a ‘purification’ ritual, with the Congress raising questions over the incident and its implications.
Responding to Kharge, Nadda said the BJP did not endorse such practices and described the alleged incident as a matter of regret.
“I have already said that BJP does not subscribe to such activities. This is a matter of regret for all of us, for the entire country. We will investigate this,” Nadda said.
However, Nadda also objected to Kharge directly attributing the alleged act to the BJP without an investigation.
“But if Kharge sahab says ‘You do this’, it is not right,” Nadda said.
The MPs from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition parties staged separate protests, again coming face to face at the Parliament’s Makar Dwar on the last day of the Monsoon session.
While a section of opposition MPs raised slogans against the government, holding placards related to the alleged embezzlement of donations made at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, others held placards questioning Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s “absence” from Parliament.
The NDA MPs, on the other hand, raised slogans with placards questioning Congress and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the alleged police action against protesters during the ‘Vidhan Sabha Gherao’ march in Jharkhand.
On Wednesday, amid the Opposition’s continued demand for his presence in Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah said that he was “ready to answer everything” regarding the police action against students during the July 20 Parliament march over the NEET paper leak issue, while accusing the Opposition of deliberately preventing a discussion from taking place.
LoP Rahul Gandhi, however, sought to sidestep the debate offer from HM Shah, saying the Opposition is not interested in the Home Minister’s “imagination or lectures” and adding that the young generation wants to know who gave orders to “shoot” at them.
Speaking to reporters before the protest at the Parliament premises, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said: “The Opposition did not want to listen to a long speech of the Home Minister (Amit Shah). We wanted the government to clarify who gave the order to open fire with pellet guns. They did not provide an answer. They are very powerful, but they were unable to run the House.”
However, BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya hit back, saying: “One should have the courage to listen to the answers, which they do not have. They do not even dare to participate in the discussion. Who is the father of the corruption that has prevailed across the country? Its name is Congress. Congress is synonymous with corruption.”
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Thursday.
Bureau Report
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