New Delhi:
A grim-faced Prime Minister Narendra Modi headlined a deafening and utterly chaotic show-down in Parliament Monday morning as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi – armed with a copy of the Constitution and photos of religious icons, including Lord Shiva, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and Guru Nanak Singh – launched a scorching broadside at the ruling BJP (and its ideological mentor, the RSS).
Amid the frenzied screaming of MPs, from both sides of the aisle – which also saw an intervention from Home Minister Amit Shah, who demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who claimed Mr Gandhi was spreading false information about ex-gratia to families of Agniveer military recruits killed on duty – Mr Modi rose twice to rebut the Congress leader’s remarks.
The specific trigger to all the ruckus was Rahul Gandhi’s pointed attack on the BJP and the RSS, whom he accused of violence against minorities. “Our great men spoke about non-violence (but) those who call themselves Hindus talk only about hatred… aap Hindu ho hi nahin (you are not a Hindu),” he said.
“Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue…” Mr Modi hit back, but it was his second intervention that drew jeers from his rivals; the Prime Minister declared the Constitution had taught him to respect the post of the Leader of the Opposition, which is held today by Mr Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi’s Fiery Speech
Mr Gandhi began his speech by claiming a “full-scale and systematic assault on the idea of India… the Constitution… and on people who resisted the attack on the Constitution”. Many opposition leaders were “personally attacked”, the Congress leader thundered and said “some are still in jail”
The reference seemed to be to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose AAP is part of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc. Mr Kejriwal is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail over his arrest in the liquor policy case.
