CPI(M)'s Elamaram Kareem seeks action against marshals who 'manhandled' Opposition MPs in Rajya Sabha

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader Elamaram Kareem on Friday demanded action against marshals who "manhandled" MPs during the passing of a Bill on insurance sector and release of the full video footage of the day to put the record straight and counter the selective visuals released by Union Ministers.

Kareem also said that it was "quite unfortunate" to mention that on the day the General Insurance (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill was taken up, the Chair denied the rights of Members for asking division and voting, leading to the protest by Opposition MPs.

In a letter to Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma, the CPI(M) MP from Kerala said "fake complaints" of physical assault were filed against some MPs, including him, by security personals while claiming that he was "grabbed", "pushed" and hit forcefully on his chest by a marshal whom he could identify by face.

Despite informing Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu about the sequence of events, Kareem said Union Ministers released a very small portion of the visuals from the House with an intent only to "mislead the public and deliberately tarnish" the Opposition.

"Since Rajya Sabha TV hasn't aired any of the visuals of that time, we are unable to prove our innocence and provide backing for our complaint. In such a situation, I would request you to provide me with the visuals of August 11, when the House began to take up the General Insurance (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, for getting a clear picture of what happened inside the Rajya Sabha chamber on that day," he said.

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He also demanded stringent action against the security staff who have physically assaulted the opposition MPs and set up an inquiry to ascertain whether any outsiders have "infiltrated" among the security staff.

He said the protest by the MPs was "never a violent struggle to physically harm any person" present inside the Chamber while emphasising that the heavy deployment of marshals during that time created all the chaos.

"This advance deployment of marshals in huge numbers makes it clear that it was a well-planned action intended to harm the protesting MPs," Kareem said.

He alleged that the marshals adopted "violent ways of physically blocking" Opposition MPs. "When I tried to approach the Chairman's Chamber to personally convince him, one among them, whom I can identify by face, grabbed and pushed me away. I got a forceful hit on the chest. I am still suffering from physical unwellness, and suffocation due to it. It may be noted that such an incident has never happened in the history of Indian Parliament," he said.

He alleged it was the first time the security personnel were deployed only to physically assault the opposition MPs, including women.

"Many doubt that those who were there in the chamber wearing security marshal uniforms were specially brought in from outside for manhandling the opposition MPs. I am saying this because the security personnel present in the Chamber at that time were not the officers who were seen inside the Rajya Sabha chamber or the Parliament House usually," he added.