Govt. demands apology from Opposition for unruly scenes in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, Aug 12 (UNI) The Centre on Thursday fielded seven ministers to counter Opposition’s allegation that ”outsiders” were brought to Rajya Sabha for ”manhandling” MPs on Wednesday, saying only Parliament security was present, and demanded an apology for unruly scenes during the Monsoon session.

The government’s move comes after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and several other Opposition leaders marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk to protest on issues such as the Pegasus snooping row, farm laws and ”manhandling” of MPs.

Besides Commerce Minister Goyal, the other ministers who held the press conference were Pralhad Joshi, Anurag Thakur, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Bhupender Yadav, V Muraleedharan and Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Responding to the Opposition attack, Goyal said their approach of ”my way or highway is highly condemnable and the country also condemns such attitude.”

Opposition is unable to digest the fact that the country has given up on them, he said at the joint press conference by ministers.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said it was pre-decided by Congress and its friendly allies not to allow Parliament to function.

“We demand that the Rajya Sabha Chairman should take stringent action against those opposition MPs who broke rules,” he said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said anarchy from streets to Parliament was the Opposition’s only agenda during the monsoon session.

“The Opposition should apologise to the nation for what happened in Parliament during Monsoon Session,” Thakur said.

He said the Secretary General’s table in Rajya Sabha is not meant for dancing and protesting.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, along with other Opposition leaders, accused the government of bringing outsiders dressed as marshals in Rajya Sabha and physically assaulting members.

Gandhi said the voice of 60 per cent of Indians was silenced as the Opposition was not allowed to speak, and called it a murder of democracy.

“As far as 60 per cent of the country is concerned, there has been no Parliament session. The voice of 60 per cent of this country has been crushed, humiliated, and yesterday in the Rajya Sabha, physically beaten,” Gandhi said.

“We asked the government to debate Pegasus (snooping row). The government refused to debate Pegasus. We raised the issues of farm laws and price rise outside Parliament because we were not allowed (to do so) inside Parliament. Today, we have come here to speak to you because we are not allowed to speak in Parliament,” the Wayanad MP told mediapersons.

“This is nothing short of murder of democracy of this country,” the Gandhi scion said.

Opposition leaders including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP leader Praful Patel, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK’s Tiruhi Siva and those from several other parties were present.

“For the first time in Rajya Sabha, MPs have been beaten up. Outsiders were dressed as marshals and MPs were pushed and shoved, and you ask if the Chairman is upset. It is the Chairman’s responsibility to run the House, why didn’t he run the House. Why can’t we speak in the House?” the former Congress president said.

Asked about Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu being upset over disruptions in the House, an angry Gandhi said it was the first time MPs were beaten up, and questioned what the Chairman was doing.

Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on various issues.

“The Prime Minister is selling this country. He is selling the soul of the country to two-three corporates. The government does not talk about farmers, or Insurance Bill or Pegasus,” he said.

The Trinamool Congress skipped the Opposition meeting, and its leaders held a separate press conference where they slammed the government for suppressing the Opposition’s voice in Parliament.

“The Prime Minister runs away from the Parliament, they are not appointing a Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha because they do not want any Opposition party to have that post, they are trampling democracy… We represent 63 percent of the people of the country,” TMC leader Sougata Roy said.

Asked about missing the Opposition march, he said: “We worked in unity with the entire Opposition in the session. However, TMC fought Bengal elections alone, and we are running the government alone. Our position is little different from other political parties.”

Opposition MPs had earlier alleged they were assaulted by marshals, while the government had accused the Opposition of misbehaving with the security personnel.

The stormy Monsoon Session came to an end on Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule. Rajya Sabha witnessed Opposition protests during the passing of the Insurance Bill, which the Opposition wanted to be discussed on the next day.