NDA, INDIA Bloc MPs Protest In Parliament Premises; BJP Alleges Rahul Pushed Its MP

Ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc MPs took out separate protest marches over the Ambedkar issue on Thursday and came face to face at the Makar Dwar of the Parliament House, leading to jostling in which BJP MP Pratap Sarangi was injured.

He was taken to hospital with an injury on his forehead. BJP MPs alleged that Sarangi was pushed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha later told reporters that while he was trying to enter the Parliament House, BJP members pushed and "threatened" him. "It is our right to enter Parliament," he said.

Nishikant Dubey of the BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi pushed an aged parliamentarian leading to his fall and subsequent injury. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned following noisy protests by the Opposition seeking an apology from Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks on B R Ambedkar. Dressed in blue, a colour associated with B R Ambedkar, INDIA bloc MPs, including the Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in the Parliament premises demanding Amit Shah's resignation for his remarks related to the chief architect of the Constitution.

BJP-led NDA parliamentarians also carried out a march within Parliament premises, raising slogans and carrying placards demanding an apology from the opposition Congress for allegedly insulting Ambedkar. As the INDIA bloc parliamentarians came face to face with the ruling coalition MPs in front of the Makar Dar of Parliament, the two sides engaged in loud sloganeering in a bid to outdo each other.

The INDIA bloc members first staged a protest at B R Ambedkar's statue in Parliament premises, carrying posters that read 'Main Bhi Ambedkar', 'Jai Bhim' and 'Amit Shah maafi maango'. They then took out a protest march on the Parliament premises. MPs of the Congress, DMK, RJD, SP, the Left and NCP(SP), among others, participated in the protest. Several opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K Kanimozhi, were seen wearing blue. Earlier, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha chaired a meeting of the Congress' Lok Sabha MPs in the main committee room.

The opposition on Wednesday seized on Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar to corner the government and demanded his resignation for what they called was an insult to the architect of the Constitution. The attack from virtually all opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC, DMK, RJD, Left parties and Shiv Sena-UBT, led to the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament and prompted the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to come out in stout defence of Shah.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien has also submitted a notice to move a privilege motion against Shah in the Rajya Sabha where the home minister had said on Tuesday evening that Congress leaders would have got a place in heaven had they chanted the name of God rather than following the fashion of repeating Ambedkar's name. The hullabaloo in Parliament also spilled onto the streets of the national capital and places as far as Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

In Delhi, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal led hundreds of supporters to gather outside the BJP office and protest noisily amid slogans "Amit Shah maafi mango, Amit Shah sharm karo". Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief M K Stalin, Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were among those who have slammed Shah for his remarks.