The row between the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led Opposition over Bhimrao Ambedkar took an ugly turn on Thursday when a scuffle broke out in the Parliament premises in which two saffron party MPs were wounded and had to be hospitalised.

The two BJP MPs, Mukesh Rajput ( Farrukhabad) and Pratap Singh Sarangi (Balasore), blamed Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for the incident in which they sustained injuries.

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Amid high drama in the Parliament premises where the MPs of the two fronts were holding separate demonstrations over the Ambedkar issue, Congress chief and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged he lost his balance and was forced to sit down on the ground when he was pushed by BJP MPs.

These unsavoury incidents took place when INDIA bloc MPs, demanding an apology and resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar, came face to face with the BJP lawmakers, who were protesting, alleging that the Congress has insulted the architect of the Indian Constitution.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters, ”They (Opposition) protest every day. They have been indulging in sloganeering and protesting everyday, For the first time, BJP MPs were protesting at Makar Dwar today. They were protesting against the misinformation being spread by Congress.”

An agitated Rijiju asked, ”Who has given him (Rahul Gandhi) the right to push? They (Congress MPs) pushed and assaulted… if other MPs also start, what will happen then ? ” He went on to ask, ”Pahalwani dikhane ka kya matlab hai, yeh akhara hai ? (where is the need to demonstrate your physical strength? is this a wrestling arena? ”

Meanwhile, another BJP Rajya Sabha MP S Phangnon Konyak from Nagaland told the Upper House that she has written to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, alleging ”misbehaviour” by Rahul Gandhi when she was also participating in the protest by her party colleagues. “My dignity and self-esteem have been deeply hurt by LoP Rahul Gandhi,” she wrote in her letter.

Parliament again became a casualty of the incidents outside as both Houses were adjourned without conducting any business. The Winter session of Parliament is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.

Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi visited the RML Hospital to see their injured party colleagues.
“Why are they releasing their frustration in Parliament if they lost Haryana and Maharashtra? A workshop should be called to train Rahul Gandhi and Congress people to understand the conduct in democracy,” Chouhan told reporters outside the hospital.

The injured Sarangi, who was in his wheelchair, told reporters, “Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP who fell on me after which I fell down.”

In his defence, Rahul Gandhi said, “This might be on your camera. I was trying to go inside through the Parliament entrance, BJP MPs were trying to stop me, push me and threaten me. So this happened…Yes, this has happened (Mallikarjun Kharge being pushed). But we do not get affected by jostling. But this is the entrance and we have the right to go in. BJP MPs were trying to stop us from going in…The central issue is that they are attacking the Constitution and insulting the memory of Ambedkar ji.”

Meanwhile, Congress President Kharge wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that he was “physically assaulted” by BJP MPs during the protest from both sides in Parliament over the Ambedkar controversy. He demanded that the Speaker order an inquiry into the incident.

Three other Congress MPs– K C Venugopal, K Suresh and Manickam Tagore– have written a separate letter to the Speaker, alleging that INDIA bloc lawmakers were physically obstructed from entering and Rahul Gandhi was physically manhandled by three MPs from the ruling party.