Rahul Gandhi Meets Danish Ali Amid Dispute Over Offensive Remarks By BJP MP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali on Friday amidst an ongoing dispute brought on by the offensive remarks of Ramesh Bidhuri, a BJP MP.

"Nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukan," Rahul Gandhi said after meeting the BSP MP. His party demands action against Bidhuri who insulted Ali during a session in the Lok Sabha.

In light of this incident, Ali has introduced a privilege motion against Bidhuri, warning that he may withdraw from Parliament if the Lok Sabha speaker doesn't take firm action against Bidhuri. He further said BSP is not a part of the Opposition Bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

After his meeting with Gandhi, Ali expressed gratitude for Gandhi's show of support and solidarity, saying his intentions were to maintain Ali's spirits.

"He came here to keep my morale high and to extend his support... He said that I am not alone and everyone who is standing with democracy is standing with me..." Danish Ali was quoted saying after his meeting with Rahul Gandhi.

He further expressed his optimism for action to be taken on the matter but also vowed to leave Parliament if necessary, as he doesn't feel his supporters expected him to tolerate hate speech. Ali also questioned whether one gets to learn such a language at RSS Shakhas.

He characterized Bidhuri's statements towards him in the Lok Sabha as nothing less than hate speech. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said senior MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Harsh Vardhan, appeared to support Bidhuri's conduct, by laughing and thumping desks.

"This behaviour of the BJP has been witnessed by people in new Parliament's first special session," the BSP MP was quoted as saying.

Both Ravi Shankar Prasad and Harsh Vardhan have denied Bidhuri's claims. Harsh Vardhan further issued a statement that he did not hear what had been said, despite being present.