The controversial remarks made on Mahatma Gandhi by BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde led to sloganeering, a walkout and an adjournment in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. And Congress members accused the ruling party of doing ‘Godse politics’.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi hit back, saying the Congress members were followers of ‘nakli (fake) Gandhis like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’, and called the BJP as real “bhakts” of the Mahatma.
Last week, Mr. Hegde, at a public event in Bengaluru: ““Freedom fighters who did not sacrifice anything made the country believe that it attained independence through ‘Upavas Satyagrah [hunger strikes]’ — Gandhi’s preferred mode of agitation — and became ‘mahapurush’ (great person)”.
Mr. Joshi informed the House that though Mr. Hegde had clarified his position, he had been asked express regret unconditionally.
The issue even led to a rare adjournment of the Question Hour. The Speaker adjourned the House until 12 noon after the Congress, DMK and NCP members refused to relent and continued their protest in the Well of the House.
Post noon, when the House convened, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the BJP leader had insulted the Mahatma, a revered a figure across the globe. He made a personal remark against Mr. Hegde.
Speaker Om Birla, however, disallowed it to go on Parliament’s record.
Opposition members led by Congress MPs were in the Well, displaying placards, shouting slogans. They didn’t heed to the Speaker’s request to return to their seats.
“I have no expectations from people who are doing Godse politics”, Mr Chowdhury said and walked out in protest.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, BJP member from Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey, demanded that the government should implemented a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Today, I make a request to the Centre to implement NRC nationwide,” he said. Mr. Dubey accused the Congress of doing vote-bank politics in the name of Muslims of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said the party wanted division of the nation and the country should be saved from it.
BJP member from West Bengal Locket Chatterjee too accused the Mamata Banerjee government of this. “There is such a situation in West Bengal that people are not being allowed to celebrate Saraswati Puja,” she said, while Opposition members were protesting against Mr. Hegde’s controversial remarks.
To lighten things up a bit, the Speaker asked the members if the House should take a ‘lunch time’ break. “I will go by whatever Mulayam Singh ji [Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav] says,” he said.
“Lunch is very essential,” replied Mr Yadav amidst laughter from members.
