Rahul Gandhi came close... started shouting, alleges BJP Rajya Sabha MP Phangnon Konyak

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Phangnon Konyak on Thursday criticised Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, stating, "He came close... I did not like it and he started shouting. Whatever happened today is very sad, this should not happen. We did not like the way they threatened... I have also complained to the Chairman."

A face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs in Parliament premises over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar left former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi injured earlier today. The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a charge rejected by the Congress leader.

Trouble began when the INDIA bloc members insisted on entering Parliament through the BJP MPs holding a protest instead of using the space left empty on one side of the staircase of the Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building.


Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said BJP MP Mukesh Rajput was also injured in the melee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Sarangi and Rajput and enquired about their health after they sustained injuries in the Parliament complex, sources said.

ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi accused of ‘gundagardi’ in Parliament as he allegedly pushes BJP MP

The 69-year-old Sarangi, a BJP member from Balasore in Odisha, suffered injuries on the left temple of his forehead. BJP member Nishikant Dubey accused Gandhi of pushing the senior leader.

"Are you not ashamed Rahul, you are resorting to rowdy behaviour ('gundagardi'). You pushed an old man," a furious Dubey charged Gandhi.

"He pushed me," Gandhi countered Dubey, walking off after having a cursory look at Sarangi, who was being attended to by fellow BJP members.

"Rahul Gandhi pushed an MP, who fell on me and I got injured," he told reporters as BJP members squatted at the Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Congress.

"I was trying to enter Parliament and the BJP MPs were stopping me, pushing me and threatening me," Gandhi told reporters in Parliament premises.

Later, Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi met Sarangi and the hospital to inquire about his well-being. Chouhan told TV reporters that Sarangi received a few stitches to stop the bleeding.

"Appropriate action will be taken after examining the injuries suffered by Sarangi," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said. "Parliament is not a place to show physical strength. It is not a wrestling ring," he added.

Congress MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted a complaint against the alleged unruly conduct of BJP MPs against Rahul Gandhi and stopping him form entering Parliament House.

In a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed he was pushed by BJP MPs, lost his balance and was forced to sit on the ground, injuring his knees that have already undergone surgery.

He sought an inquiry into the incident, claiming it was not just an attack on him personally, but on the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress president.