Parliament Scuffle: After political protests at the Parliament premises turned ugly on Thursday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla banned demonstrations by MPs and political parties at any of the gates of the Parliament.
“Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has issued strict instructions that no political party, Member of Parliament or groups of members will hold any dharna and demonstration at building gates of Parliament House,” news agency PTI reported citing parliament sources.
The BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc parties staged protests on the Parliament premises on the alleged insults to B R Ambedkar, which gradually turned into a face-off at the Parliament entry steps, leaving two BJP MPs injured and a woman MP claiming she was intimidated by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
BJP MPs Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput sustained injuries in the ruckus and were admitted to the ICU of RML Hospital in Delhi.
Following the incident, the BJP filed a police complaint against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “physical assault” and “incitement” and demanded that he be indicted under sections of attempt to murder among other charges. The complaint was filed at the Parliament Street Police Station by BJP MP Hemang Joshi, who was accompanied by party colleagues Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj.
Later in the day, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi based on the BJP complaint, accusing the Congress leader of physical assault and incitement during the Parliament scuffle.
The FIR has been registered under sections 115 (voluntary causing hurt), 117 (voluntary causing grievous hurt), 125 (act of endangering life or personal safety of others), 131 (use of criminal force), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A police officer said that the LoP is likely to be called for questioning in connection with the case. Police will also request the Lok Sabha Secretariat to provide the CCTV footage of the area where the alleged ruckus took place, PTI reported.
The Congress, on the other hand, strongly refuted the allegations and instead blamed BJP MPs for misbehaving and pushing its chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The party also alleged that Rahul Gandhi was physically manhandled. Congress also lodged a police complaint in connection the matter.
Congress is set to stage a protest on December 20 across all district headquarters in the country over the Union Home Minister’s statement and the FIR registered against Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi.
