Congress MP from Kerala Ramya Haridas on Monday alleged that she was “physically assaulted” by Jaskaur Meena of the BJP in the Lok Sabha and that she is being targeted repeatedly because she is a Dalit.
The incident has left her shaken, and she burst into tears in the Lok Sabha.
“To raise slogans or march into the well of the House is a regular parliamentary strategy used by the Opposition parties to express their protest. We were not doing anything unusual,” Ms. Haridas told The Hindu .
The Congress MP said it was unusual that Speaker Om Birla did not allow a discussion on the Delhi riots which have left 46 dead and saw a complete breakdown of the administrative control of the government and the police.
“I was shocked when suddenly someone hit me on my shoulder from back. We don’t expect to be beaten up inside Parliament. It is unfortunate that the House which so far was a safe space has been reduced to this,” Ms. Haridas said.
She met Mr. Birla after the incident. “If the Speaker wants to establish the truth, he can look into the CCTV and other Lok Sabha TV camera footages,” the Congress MP said.
In her complaint to Mr. Birla, Ms. Haridas sought action against Ms. Meena. She said that the BJP had been targeting her for being a Dalit and a woman.
During the winter session last year, the Congress had alleged that two of its women parliamentarians, including Ms. Haridas, were “manhandled” by marshals in the Lok Sabha when they were protesting in the well of the House over the Maharashtra government formation. Both the MPs had lodged a complaint with the Speaker.
