Assault on PM: 'Lies, Rubbish, Preposterous'

'The prime minister didn't come to Parliament.'
'But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister.'
'Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges.'

Congress MPs Varsha Gaikwad and Jothimani have rejected Bharatiya Janata Party claims that women MPs sought to assault the prime minister on Wednesday evening, calling the charge a deliberate falsehood to deflect attention from parliamentary disruptions, denial of speaking rights to the Opposition, and controversial remarks made on the House floor.

Speaking to Rediff Congress MPs Varsha Gaikwad and Jothimani strongly rebutted the BJP allegations that women Opposition members had planned to physically assault the prime minister, describing the charge as "idiotic", "preposterous" and a manufactured narrative to mask what they called the government's refusal to face accountability in Parliament.

'Protesting against Nishikant Dubey's vulgar remarks against Indira Gandhi'

"From where does the BJP churn out such rubbish?" Gaikwad, the Congress MP from Mumbai North Central, asked, reacting to statements by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari.

"From where does Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari bring such lies and spin a narrative to hide the prime minister's inactions?"

"He (Dubey) spoke such vulgar things about Nehruji, Soniaji and Indiraji. We were protesting against Nishikant Dubey's vulgar remarks and we wanted to register our protest before the Speaker of the House," she said, adding, "As responsible MPs we know what our rights are and we were just asking the Speaker to be heard."

Reportedly, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stated there was an Opposition plan to assault the PM. 'I advised the PM to not come to the House (external link),' Birla reportedly said.

'When we demand that the PM talk about national security, he runs away'

Rejecting the assault charge outright, Gaikwad underlined that Prime Minister Modi was not even present in the House at the time. "The PM was not present when we were protesting before the Speaker. So from where does the BJP and Manoj Tiwari bring up such idiotic ideas of wanting to assault the PM?" she asked.

"How on earth can intelligent MPs like Manoj Tiwari come up with such preposterous ideas?"

Gaekwad said the protest involved nothing more than banners. "We were just protesting with banners. There is no rule that prohibits MPs from doing so," Gaikwad said, accusing the Treasury benches of bias. /p>

"First, they don't allow the LoP (Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi) to speak, but before him Nishikant Dubey starts speaking. How can they be so one-sided in their approach?"

Gaikwad said the Opposition had repeatedly sought Speaker Birla's intervention. "We had requested the Speaker thrice to allow us to answer Nishikant Dubey's charges but we were not allowed. So, to register our protest we went to the Speaker," she said.

"When we demand that the PM talk about national security, he runs away."

Invoking the Congress' ideological roots, she added, "The Congress party believes in Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence and truth," and alleged that the BJP "runs away when the Opposition holds them accountable and demands answers about what happened in Ladakh, the India-US trade deal and the Epstein files."

'This has never happened in the history of this Parliament'

Karur, Tamil Nadu, MP Jothimani echoed the denial, calling the allegation "disgraceful". "We have no, no such ideas," she said.

"It's disgraceful that the prime minister, defence minister and home minister stood up in Parliament and ensured that an Opposition leader was not speaking. This has never happened in the history of this Parliament."

Jothimani said repeated attempts by the Opposition to speak had been thwarted. "Every day we are trying to speak, but every time we were not allowed to speak. As a result, the House is adjourned," she said.

"Rahul Gandhiji can't show even a magazine and he (Dubey) will do that (Dubey read book excerpts from several books levelling damning allegations against Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi)?"

Jothimani said the Opposition wanted to raise "very serious" issues. "What (former Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund ) Naravaneji said we wanted to speak on that," she said, along with concerns over the US-India trade deal, farmers, MSMEs and the Epstein files.

'It's about the country; beyond the Congress and BJP'

On the specific allegation of assault, Jothimani was categorical. "Yesterday, we do not have any bad intention. We went beyond the well to protest, but the prime minister didn't come to Parliament," she said.

"He was not present. But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister. Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges. We are not the BJP. We are Congress."

Calling the episode a question of democratic rights, she said, "The leader of the Opposition not being allowed to speak is not a small thing. It's about the country; beyond the Congress and BJP."

Parliament, she stressed, must follow "the same rule for everybody" and uphold "dignity and decorum".

"We cannot be sitting lame duck when they are trying to shut us down," Jothimani said, adding that the INDIA alliance stood united.

"Somebody making a deplorable statement against a former prime minister is not acceptable to us. The BJP warranted the situation," she said.

"We never intend to do something. We wanted to speak -- because there are so many issues concerning the country."