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As Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge submitted a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla alleging "physical assault" by other Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, other party MPs also told ANI that party leader Rahul Gandhi had been blocked from entering Parliament, following which a scuffle broke out between the two parties.
This comes amidst INDIA bloc and NDA leaders staging parallel protests at the Parliament premises regarding the remarks of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on B R Ambedkar. During the scuffle, two BJP MPs, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were injured. Both MPs were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and are being treated for their injuries. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told ANI, "Everyone saw that Congress and other INDIA alliance leaders staged their protest near the statue of BR Ambedkar and demanded the resignation of Union HM Amit Shah. Then we came here to enter the Parliament but BJP people restricted our way and didn't let anyone inside the Parliament." "During that scuffle, our leader Mallikarjun Kharge fell...During the scuffle, many people fell..." he added. Party's MP and General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal also alleged that the BJP MPs had "purposefully blocked" Rahul Gandhi from entering. "Actually, the BJP MPs blocked Rahul Gandhi while he was going to the House. They purposefully blocked Rahul Gandhi, they blocked the path of LoP. We have already given a complaint to the Speaker," he said. Party MP K Suresh said, "Congress MPs have met the Speaker and submitted a complaint against the BJP MPs. When Rahul Gandhi tried to enter the Parliament, BJP MPs did not let him enter the Parliament...Then he pushed to go to the House..." Meanwhile, along with Venugopal and K Suresh, Manickam Tagore also wrote to LS Speaker Om Birla too, alleging that Gandhi was physically obstructed from entering the Parliament. In the letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Congress MPs claimed that they were protesting peacefully and were marching from Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue to Makar Dwar in the Parliament. "However, as we attempted to enter the Parliament through Makar Dwar, the protesting MPs were physically obstructed from entering. We would also like to bring to your notice that Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition was physically manhandled by three MPs from the ruling party," the MPs said. This is a clear violation of the privileges extended to the Leader of the Opposition and infringes on the rights accorded to him in his official capacity as an MP. Their conduct was not only a blatant assault on the personal dignity of Rahul Gandhi but antithetical to the democratic spirit of our parliament," they added. (ANI)
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