Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla restricts demonstrations at Parliament gates

Dec 20, 2024

New Delhi [India], December 20 : Amid the scuffle that broke out at the Parliament premises, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday issued strict instructions that no political party, MPs or groups of members will hold any Dharna and demonstration at the building gates of Parliament House, sources said.
This comes after the Parliament witnessed parallel protests from both the Treasury and Opposition benches outside the parliament on Thursday morning. The ruling BJP MPs were protesting in the Parliament's premises against the Congress party for "insulting" Babasaheb Ambedkar.
INDIA Bloc MPs led by Rahul Gandhi held a protest in the Parliament premises and demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Leaders from both sides alleged pushing and shoving by each other, while two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were injured. Both the MPs were rushed and admitted to Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
Earlier, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused Rahul Gandhi of behaving like a 'goon' and intentionally causing a disruption during the BJP MPs' protest at Makar Dwar of Parliament leading to a scuffle between the ruling alliance and the opposition.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Chouhan also criticized Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi following their press conference, claiming that their actions showed a lack of accountability and respect.
Speaking about the incident, Chouhan claimed that security personnel had asked Rahul Gandhi to take a different route to avoid disrupting the BJP MPs' protest at Makar Dwar. However, he claimed that Rahul Gandhi insisted on entering through the main area, deliberately creating a disturbance and disregarding the security protocols.
"Congress President Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a press conference here just a while ago. We were expecting him to seek forgiveness for the actions they committed in Parliament, but instead, their arrogance was on full display. Today, my mind is upset and heavy with pain. I have been a member of both the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha many times, and I have seen the conduct and behaviour of the MPs and MLAs. What I saw in the Parliament today was unimaginable -- behaviour full of arrogance, arrogance and hooliganism," Chouhan said.
He further said, "MPs from any party have the right to protest on any issue. Congress has also been staging protests for the past few days. While they were protesting at Makar Dwar, we (the ruling alliance) used to enter the Parliament from the other entry. However, today when BJP MPs were protesting in Makar Dwar, Rahul Gandhi deliberately tried entering from the gate where the BJP MPs were protesting, even after security intervention," said Chouhan.
Meanwhile, accusing the BJP of being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution," Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that BJP MPs tried to stop them while they were trying to enter Parliament premises after their protest and claimed that the ruling party is using such tactics to divert attention from the Adani issue and Amit Shah's remarks pertaining to BR Ambedkar.
Addressing a joint press conference with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, accused the ruling party MPs of deliberately obstructing the Opposition's efforts to raise issues in Parliament.