Disrupting the House, betraying voters' trust

Washout of the winter session is a reflection of the decline in standards in Parliament

- Shashi Shekhar

Whatever happened at the Makar Dwar (Fish Gate) of the Parliament a day before the conclusion of the winter session is unbelievable. The ruling party alleges that Rahul Gandhi and the Congressmen accompanying him pushed and shoved two of their members who got injured and had to be admitted to the hospital.

The Congress, on the other hand, contends the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament (MPs) obstructed them and pushed Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. In the melee, 82-year-old Kharge sustained injuries in his leg. Both parties have lodged complaints. The matter is with the Lok Sabha Speaker and registered in the Parliament police station. The issue is going to drag on. Both parties are trying to cash in on Babasaheb Ambedkar as his name guarantees votes from a section of society.

Before going into details, let me give you a summary of the incident. On Wednesday, Union home minister Amit Shah mentioned Ambedkar in his Rajya Sabha address. Kharge complained that Shah's comments on Ambedkar were demeaning. His tweet went viral and stoked a political fire. Within no time every Opposition leader started interpreting Shah's comments. Delhi's former chief minister dashed off a letter to the Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Chandrababu Naidu urging them to part ways with those who disrespect Ambedkar.