To defend Mallikarjun Kharge's Rajya Sabha protest, Congress cites friend-turned-foe Ghulam Nabi Azad
To defend Mallikarjun Kharge's Rajya Sabha protest, Congress cites friend-turned-foe Ghulam Nabi Azad
NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and the leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge locked horns on Friday over discussion on paper leaks in the House. As Dhankar refused the debate on topic, the Congress chief stormed into the Well of the House in protest which the chairman termed a "stain" for Parliament.
Now to justify Kharge's action, Congress has cited its former party leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and an opposition protest of 2019 during the discussion on the abrogation of Article 370.
"Such a senior leader was not allowed to speak today. We only wanted incidents of paper leaks and NEET to be taken up for discussion first. He kept raising his hand to demand a discussion but his attempts were ignored and in the end, Kharge ji had to enter the Well of the House," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
On Dhankar's remark such act by a leader of opposition has happened for the first time in the history, Ramesh quipped, "When an old competitor turns a friend in the present, these people forget the history."
Talking about former party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ramesh said, "Today it is being said that never before a LoP has entered the Well. On 5th August 2019, when the bill on abrogation of Article 370 in J&K was brought, at the time the then LoP Ghulam Nabi Azad had entered the Well in protest. Today, Kharge ji kept requesting the Rajya Sabha Chairman to allow him to speak, but he kept ignoring Kharge ji. It would have been a 4-5 hour debate, the education minister would have given a statement and that would be it."
Adaz, who was the leader of opposition in 2019 and a member of Congress, in August 2019, had condemned the NDA government's proposal to revoke Article 370, abrogating the special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Responding to Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in the House, Azad had accused the BJP of murdering the Constitution.
Several Opposition parties staged a protest in the Parliament. PDP, Trinamool Congress, DMK MPs sat on dharna on the floor in the Well of Rajya Sabha.
"Ghulam Nabi Azad, in fact, sat on the stairs next to the Chair, and I know this because I was sitting right next to him," Ramesh said.
In 2022, Azad quit Congress accusing Rahul Gandhi of reducing to “ruins” what was once a “national movement” that won the country independence. He later formed the Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
After his resignation from Congress, Azad and PM Modi have constantly praised each other on several occassion. Last year, he praised PM Modi for behaving like a statesman and ‘not taking revenge’. The former Congress leader said, “I must give credit to Modi. For what I did to him, he was too generous”. He mentioned the he had, as the leader of Opposition in the Parliament, "got some Bills totally failed".
As Azad's term got over in 2021, a teary-eyed PM Modi gave a farewell speech in Rajya Sabha reminiscing about his close association with the veteran MP. PM Modi said he would not allow Azad to retire (nirvit nahin hone doonga), noting that his political legacy and humane qualities will be hard to match and replace.
On Friday, the Congress-led INDIA bloc demanded discussion on the ongoing paper leaks row in NEET, NET and other national-level examinations.
Both the Houses were ajourned for the day following uproar by the opposition.
For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes