Rail Budget 2014: Lok Sabha witnesses explosive atmosphere post announcements

NEW DELHI: An explosive atmosphere prevailed in the LS on Tuesday as members belonging to BJP, Trinamool Congress and AAP almost came to blows after a BJP MP allegedly showered abuses against a woman Trinamool MP. The incident provoked TMC and AAP members to stage a dharna outside the House and seek the Speaker’s intervention.

BJP MPs denied the charges. The incident took place when the LS re-assembled after the post-railway budget break. Trinamool and AAP MPs entered the well of the House, protesting against many provisions in the railway budget.

As the protesting TMC MPs raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and railway minister Sadananda Gowda, some BJP members tried to counter them by chanting “abki baar Modi sarkar. Amid the sloganeering, BJP MPs Hari Narayan Rajbhar and Sharad Dvivedi entered the well, charging TMC members with disrupting proceedings. This led to heated exchange of words and both sides almost coming to a physical clash.

Others, including ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Kalraj Mishra and Prakash Javedkar, were seen rushing to the well to defuse the crisis even as presiding officer Hukam Dev Narain Yadav adjourned the House.

Soon after, TMC members led by Kalyan Banerjee, and backed by AAP MPs, staged a dharna near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament House complex, alleging BJP MPs had threatened to hit them and had used foul language. TMC member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar told reporters, "some BJP MP" used derogatory language when they were protesting against the railway budget. However, BJP MPs Rajbhar and Dvivedi claimed that "they were the target of TMC attack".