New Delhi: A day after the ruckus in the Parliament in which the opposition alleged that the women parliamentarians were manhandled by the marshals in the Rajya Sabha, the Centre on Thursday, refuted the allegations saying that the opposition is spreading lies and also requested the Rajya Chairman to release the CCTV footage of the incident.
The opposition parties include - Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), Shiv Sena, National Conference, CPM, CPI, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kerala Congress (Mani) and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) took out a protest march and said that they have lost their voice in the parliament.
"Yesterday, for the first time in the history of our country, members of the Rajya Sabha were manhandled and physically roughed up. This was nothing short of murder of democracy," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a party event in Delhi
Meanwhile, many Central ministers have clarified about the incident.
READ: 'Murder of Democracy,' says Rahul Gandhi as Opposition march to Vijay Chowk
Leader in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said that we have demanded the Chairman Rajya Sabha to take stringent action against errant members. Different parties had different points of view on conducting the discussion in the House, they lacked cohesion and clarity and behaved on their own whims and fancies.
If one Aam Aadmi Party member climbed over the table then two members of the Congress party also did the same given its impact on Punjab politics.
It was a shameful act and a blot on parliamentary history of India. They are all trying to divert attention from the main issues. Only 30 marshals, 18 men, and 12 women marshals were deployed which was necessary, he added.
He further said that the opposition's only intent was lowering the dignity of the House. They allowed the passage of the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill, for political gains. If they had cooperated better, all the Bills would have passed only after debates.
"We were threatened that if tried to pass the bill on Friday or Monday then the bigger incidents could happen on August 9. We were told that the August 9 incident was only a trailer. The day before yesterday, some MPs climbed on top of the tables (in Parliament). They were feeling proud of themselves. They thought they've done something great. They tweeted after shooting its video. Video shooting is not allowed, " Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said.
Union Min Anurag Thakur said, "People wait for their issues to be raised in Parliament. Whereas, anarchy remained the Opposition's agenda. They didn't care about people, taxpayers' money. What happened was condemnable. Instead of shedding crocodile tears, they must apologise to the nation."
Union Miniter for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also said that strong action should be taken against the culprits so that in future, they will think hundred times before engaging in such misconduct. Naqvi was replying to Pratap Singh Bajwa's statement that he would repeat it a number of times if he was not allowed to speak.
"Why they went into the Well, books are not for throwing, tables and chairs are for sitting, not for climbing. There is no place for violence in a democracy," said Minister of Labour and Employment and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav.
The CCTV footage shows Opposition MPs jostling with marshals in Parliament yesterday.
Opposition leaders from Congress, Shiv Sena, DMK, CPIM, RJD, SP, NCP, CPI, IUML and LJD also met Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today to apprise him of yesterday's incident in the Rajya Sabha.
