Row over Ambedkar escalates, BJP and INDIA bloc trade charges of physical violence

New Dehli: The row over B R Ambedkar escalated and turned ugly on Thursday, with the Parliament complex virtually becoming a fighting arena between the ruling BJP and Opposition INDIA bloc leading to allegations and counter-allegations of physical violence.
The tussle between the two sides, which started on Wednesday after the Opposition accused Home Minister Amit Shah of insulting Ambedkar, ensured that no business could be transacted in either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha as both were repeatedly adjourned before being terminated prematurely for the day.
While Shah has rejected the charge of insulting Ambedkar during his speech in the Rajya Sabha two days back, the Opposition, led by the Congress, relentlessly pressed for his apology and resignation.
The MPs of the INDIA bloc, led by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, created a ruckus both inside the two Houses as well as outside in the forecourt of the Parliament building.
They took out a march and staged a protest at the main entrance of Parliament Building, during which two BJP MPs – Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput – claimed to have been pushed and injured.
Sarangi and Rajput said they received injuries after Rahul Gandhi pushed another MP and due to that action, they fell down the stairs.
Gandhi denied the allegation of assault and said it was the BJP MPs who had tried to stop him from entering the Parliament building.
However, the BJP escalated the matter, with its two MPs Anurag Singh Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj lodging a case of “attempt to murder” against Gandhi at Parliament Street Police Station.
The two injured MPs, who were admitted to a hospital, also got calls from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enquire about their condition.
“Rahul Gandhi has physically assaulted our MPs Mukesh Rajput and Pratap Sarangi,” alleged Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and asked, “Which law has given the permission to Rahul Gandhi to take law in his hand?”
He said the incident happened at the main entry of Parliament where BJP MPs were protesting. “This is the same place where the Opposition protests daily. We protested because the Congress has always disrespected BR Ambedkar ji,” Rijiju said.
Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc alleged that Gandhi was “manhandled” by BJP MPs and wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to lodge a protest.
Both the BJP and the Congress also shared videos to support their allegations against each other.
Sharing a video in which Gandhi approaches Sarangi after the fall and then walks away, the BJP said the visuals capture the “arrogance of the Gandhi scion”.
The Congress, on the other hand, shared a clip and alleged that BJP MPs were stopping their Congress counterparts from entering Parliament.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged that he was “pushed” by BJP MPs during the protest, because of which he lost balance and fell.
“But they are blaming us for pushing them,” he said addressing a press conference at the party headquarters along with Gandhi.
He accused the BJP of not allowing the Opposition MPs, including women, to protest “peacefully” and entering the Parliament building.
He said the environment that BJP had created in the country would not be tolerated and a movement was being organised across the country against this.
Gandhi said the BJP was levelling various allegations, including assault charges, against him in a bid to distract and divert attention from the main issue of the ‘indictment of Adani in the US’.
“We asked Amit Shah to resign but that did not happen and what happened today was another distraction by the BJP to divert the nation from the Adani issue,” Gandhi said.
“They have insulted Ambedkar ji. They should apologise for this and the Home Minister should resign,” the former Congress chief said.
“We have been saying from the very beginning that the thinking of the BJP-RSS has always been anti-Constitution and against Ambedkar ji. They want to erase the contribution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar ji, They have projected this infront of everyone,” Gandhi said.