Rahul dons new avatar, leads Congress charge in Parliament

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was in the lead as his party along with other opposition members on Wednesday created uproar in Lok Sabha demanding an urgent discussion on communal situation in the country.

Gandhi joined his party colleagues in slogan shouting in the Well against the government. They were demanding a discussion through an adjournment motion on rising incidents of communal violence in the country.  The agitating members shouted ‘we want justice’ and said ‘Pradhan Mantri jawab do (Prime Minister should reply).’

However, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow it leading to uproar.

As the Speaker continued to ignore the protests, at one point, Congress member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury came to the podium and banged the desk of the Speaker saying she was discriminating against the opposition. “You are custodian of the House. Your are mother of the House. You are discriminating against us. We want decisive leadership. You are committing partiality,” he said, inviting strong reaction from the members of treasury benches.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was present in the House during the protests, was seen encouraging party members to raise slogans.

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Later, Gandhi charged the Narendra Modi government with not allowing discussion in Parliament where he said only one man’s voice is heard. “We are not being allowed to speak in Parliament. We are asking for a discussion. There is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable. Everybody feels it, their party feels it, we feel it, everybody feels it,” Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.

“There is a mood in Parliament that only one man’s voice counts for anything in this country,” he said after Congress members stormed the Well of the House demanding a discussion on growing incidents of communal tension.

“We are raising a point, we are asking for a discussion. The Speaker, I mean... It is completely one-sided, partiality. That’s what we are raising,” Gandhi added.

Reacting to a reporter’s comment that he was raising his voice for the first time and leading from the front, Gandhi said, “I have raised my voice many times in Parliament.”

Congress had earlier given notice of on adjournment motion in Lok Sabha over rising incidents of communal violence in the country. The notice was given by Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party MP M I Shahnawaz and party whip K C Venugopal.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, while opposing the adjournment motion, said there was no communal tension in the country and hit back at the opposition saying, “Don’t create unnecessary problems.”