Lok Sabha: Congress, BJP spar over attack on Rahul’s car

The Lok Sabha adjourns for the day without undertaking any serious business as Congress members stage noisy protest

August 08, 2017 02:02 pm | Updated 02:23 pm IST - New Delhi

Images of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s car after being pelted with stones.

Images of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s car after being pelted with stones.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Tuesday without undertaking any serious business as Congress members staged a noisy protest over the attack on Rahul Gandhi’s car in Gujarat last week as the government questioned his foreign visits without any security cover.

The Congress members stormed the Well of the House as soon as it met for the day, with their leader Mallikarjun Kharge saying that their vice president could have been killed when his convoy was hit by stones.

The government went on an aggressive mode with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who made an appearance in Parliament following a long spell of recuperation after he fractured his leg, attacking Mr. Gandhi for not adhering to SPG security norms.

The nation as well as the House “want to know what he wants to hide by not taking SPG protection along when he left India on six occasions for over 72 days,” Mr. Singh said.

His sharp attack highlighting Gandhi’s trips abroad, an issue which has often been used by the BJP to attack the Congress leader, intensified protests from the placard-carrying Congress members, forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to first adjourn the House till noon.

There was no let-up in the Congress protests when the House reassembled, even as the Speaker went on with the scheduled proceedings for a while.

However, the government appeared in no mood to placate the Congress members and this time it was Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar’s turn to hit back at them in the absence of the Home Minister.

He responded after Kharge accused Singh of misleading the country and the House.

“It is the Congress and Rahul Gandhi who are misleading the House. Where is he going? Why does he need SPG if he does not want to use it? So much of the country’s money is spent on the SPG. The government is giving him full protection but he should also be responsible. He should use it,” Kumar said.

He sought to know why he does not take SPG personnel along when he travels abroad.

Coming to the support of the Congress, Sudip Bandhopadhyay (TMC) said the House should condemn the attack on Rahul, calling it condemnable and disgraceful.

Such an attack is reflective of intolerance in the society, he said but agreed with the point that the Congress leader should use SPG protection.

As the Speaker proceeded with other business, Congress members pressed ahead with their protest, forcing her to adjourn the House till Wednesday.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.