Parliament paralysed again as BJP insists on Rahul Gandhi's apology for his London remarks
New Delhi, March 20
The Parliament logjam entered the second week on Monday, with both Houses adjourned within seconds amid a persisting Opposition-BJP face-off over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s London remarks on India’s alleged “democratic decline”.
While the broader Opposition blamed the government for the stalemate, saying it had invented the issue to avoid constituting a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Adani matter, the BJP fielded minister Hardeep Puri who said “an unconditional apology from Gandhi can end the Parliament logjam”.
Puri questioned Gandhi for terming the minorities “second-class citizens in India”, noting: “I was born five years after the Partition and this country has given me everything…Is he playing to an agenda?”
Gandhi, who has been defending his remarks, meanwhile, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today seeking permission to put across his point of view in the House since “four ministers have levelled allegations against him”.
In Parliament, several Opposition MPs gave adjournment notices to discuss the non-constitution of the JPC on the Adani issue after leaders of the Congress, DMK, RJD, CPM, CPI, NCP, JD-U, AAP and Shiv Sena met in Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber.
Union Minister Puri questioned Gandhi’s intentions behind “asking foreign nations to intervene in the Indian democratic process”.
Hardeep Puri targets Congress
- The Opposition blamed the government for the stalemate; it said the Centre was avoiding constituting a JPC on Adani matter
- The BJP fielded Hardeep Puri, who said an ‘unconditional apology from Rahul Gandhi can end the Parliament logjam’
- Puri questioned Rahul for terming the minorities ‘second-class citizens in India’, noting: ‘Is he playing to an agenda?’
