Seemandhra MP regrets pepper spraying

Facing criticism for using pepper spray in the Lok Sabha during introduction of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, L Rajagopal, an MP from Seemandhra, on Friday regretted the act, but maintained that he had done it in self defence.

“I am not saying what happened in Parliament was the right thing. Definitely, all of us regret it; all of us feel ashamed of what happened,” he told reporters here.

Appearing to have mellowed down a day later, he, however, defended his act, saying he had used the pepper spray to defend one of his parliamentary colleagues who was being “manhandled” by political opponents.

Some Lok Sabha members, “at the behest of the Congress leadership”, had tried to “manhandle” MPs from Seemandhra, he said.

“I had to do something in self-defence. I did not want to use tactics like engaging in a fistfight. Hence, I used the spray when I saw a colleague from a different party being manhandled,” he said.

“I went to rescue Venugopal Reddy when he was targeted by Congress MPs while protesting in the Well of the House. (But) they started attacking me. So, I used the pepper spray in self defence,” said Rajagopal.

He said he always carries pepper spray as he is “under great threat from these forces”—a reference to supporters of Telangana statehood.