Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday banned protests by MPs or political parties at the gates of Parliament, PTI reported, quoting unidentified sources.
Earlier in the day, the Congress protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s alleged insult to BR Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, while the Bharatiya Janata Party held a counter-protest, alleging that it was the Congress that had insulted Ambedkar.
The two sides also accused each other of manhandling after they engaged in a scuffle inside the Parliament complex.
The BJP alleged that two of its MPs – Pratap Chandra Sarangi from Odisha’s Balasore and Mukesh Rajput from Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad – were injured. The Delhi Police registered a first information report against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the ruling party alleged that he pushed another BJP MP, which led to Sarangi falling.
On the other hand, the Congress alleged that party president Mallikarjun Kharge fell on the ground after he was pushed by BJP MPs. The police, however, have not as yet acted on a complaint by the Opposition party alleging that the BJP MPs manhandled Kharge.
Following the violence, the Speaker’s office underlined that a directive banning demonstrations was issued to safeguard the sanctity of Parliament and ensure that its proceedings were not disrupted, The Indian Express reported.
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