New Delhi: Sparring with the Treasury Bench in Parliament, Congress leaders are defending former party president Rahul Gandhi from heavy criticism over his remarks in London about Indian democracy being under “brutal attack”. But the protagonist himself is missing in action.
The MP for Wayanad has been away since he flew to London last month after attending the All India Congress Committee (AICC) plenary session in Raipur. His party colleagues, meanwhile, are left shielding him from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attacks.
The proceedings of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament have seen repeated disruptions, with the Treasury and Opposition benches trading barbs and Congress MPs opposing the BJP’s demand that Gandhi apologise for his remarks in the UK.
Gandhi’s last public appearance was at an interaction at the UK-based policy think tank Chatham House in London on 6 March. During the interaction, Gandhi said that democratic institutions in India are under “brutal attack” and termed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a “secret society” built to subvert democratic processes.
Multiple Congress leaders defending him, including Members of Parliament, conceded to ThePrint that they are unaware of his whereabouts. One Congress leader, however, said Gandhi might return to India tonight and attend Parliament Wednesday.
However, an official confirmation in this regard is awaited.
On Tuesday, the BJP continued its attack on Gandhi and demanded that he appear in Parliament. “He should come to Parliament and apologise to the nation. He says he is not allowed to speak in Parliament but his attendance in the Lok Sabha is lower than the average attendance of MPs,” said Union minister Anurag Thakur.
Congress MPs K.C. Venugopal and Shaktisinh Gohil reacted by moving a privilege motion against Union minister Piyush Goyal Tuesday for naming Rahul Gandhi — a Lok Sabha MP — in the Rajya Sabha the previous day.
The second half of the Budget session had begun with a storm Monday as the government mounted an attack on Gandhi. The attack, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha and Goyal in the Rajya Sabha, was centred around the argument that the Congress leader’s remarks on Indian democracy discredited India.
“Rahul Gandhi, who is a member of the Lok Sabha, had gone to London and tried to discredit India and said the democratic system in India is completely crumbling. He also said foreign powers should save India’s democracy. He tried to deeply hurt India’s honour and prestige. This is condemnable. The House should condemn and he should apologise to the Lok Sabha,” Singh said.
Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi raised a similar demand in the Lok Sabha right afterwards. “If he (Gandhi) has any shame, he should come to this House and tender an apology. This is our demand,” he said.
In the Rajya Sabha, Goyal raked up the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi to attack the Congress. “He (Rahul) should understand what democracy is. Democracy had come under attack when fundamental rights were suspended during the Emergency. His party did it,” Goyal said.
The Congress, meanwhile, countered the BJP by aggressively reiterating its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the fallout of the Hindenburg Research report. Congress leaders even accused the BJP of not letting Parliament function to shield the Adani Group from a probe.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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