Protesting against the Rajya Sabha not "taking up" a discussion on Delhi riots for the fifth day, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien on Friday made a speech from the corridor of Parliament House, saying the national capital needs "urgent healing".
In his speech, a video which has been posted on social media, O'Brien said the government has been stalling business in both the Houses of Parliament.
He said genocide did not start with gas chambers during Nazi regime. "It started with slogans spreading hate and bigotry," he said seeking to draw a comparison with Nazi Germany and Delhi riots.
"The Home Minister hasn't visited affected areas...The violence started from inciting slogans. We all know the people who did it. What gives them the guts to utter these slogans? It is the Prime Minister, the Home Minister. It is almost as if they have sanctioned these slogans. These slogans spread bigotry and hate," O'Brien said.
The Opposition parties had been protesting inside Parliament since the second leg of Budget Session started on March 2 though the government has later said it has scheduled a discussion on Delhi riots in Lok Sabha on March 11 and a day later in Rajya Sabha.
"I have been ready with the speech on behalf of the Trinamool Congress. Mr Chairman Sir, what can I do. The government is stalling Parliament. Today on Friday, I need to make my speech and I am making it not in the chamber downstairs but on the first floor. We have to look at different ways to have our voices heard. So here I am," he said.
"A little bit of democracy is still left in the country that although I cannot speak inside Parliament, I can do so here. Delhi needs urgent healing," he said.
He said several Opposition parties have given notices for the past five days to discuss the issue but these have not been accepted.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said all what the duo do is plan elections. "There is enough evidence in the public domain to suggest that after these kind of riots and genocide only one political party gains... They have stalled Parliament because they don't want to answer hard questions," he claimed.
Referring to Modi's announcement that women would would take over his social media handles on Women's Day, he suggested that the Prime Minister give it to women who have lost children and husbands in the Delhi violence.