Rahul attends Lok Sabha, Opposition organise human chain in Parliament

'Actually what you are seeing is a test of Indian democracy,' Rahul told the press

Facing a demand for an apology from the BJP over his ‘democracy in danger’ remarks in London, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attended Lok Sabha that got adjourned in minutes, prompting him to claim that the whole ‘tamasha’ by the BJP is aimed at avoiding questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with industrialist Gautam Adani.

Rahul indicated at a press conference that he would not pipe down and like to slug it out in Parliament even as the joint Opposition barring Trinamool Congress mounted a fresh attack on the BJP by organising a human chain around Parliament and decided to seek President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention to pressure the government to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani affair.

For the fourth consecutive day, Parliament could not function following protests by both the BJP demanding Rahul’s apology and the joint Opposition raising the Adani Group issue.

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However, the BJP sought to corner Rahul as it continued to seek his apology while asking to "first demonstrate" his regret. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi said the entire country was angry over his comments insulting the Parliament and the entire country.

Isolated in the Opposition ranks as it ploughed a lone road, Trinamool Congress separately urged Opposition-ruled states to conduct investigations against the Adani Group. Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said the government is turning Parliament into a "deep, dark chamber" and making it "irrelevant" by not allowing discussions.

Defending his remarks abroad and taking a swipe at the Narendra Modi dispensation, Rahul told a press conference that he wanted to respond to four ministers who made allegations against him first in Parliament and he would get an opportunity to place his views if the Indian democracy was functional. Separately, he said, he has “not made any anti-India speech”.

“Actually what you are seeing is a test of Indian democracy. After four leaders of the BJP have made an allegation about an MP, is that MP going to be given the same space that those four ministers have been given or is he going to be told to shut up? That is the real question in front of this country right now,” he said.

Expressing hope that he would be allowed to speak on Friday as he would like to place his views first in Parliament, Rahul claimed that the “whole idea” is “fundamental questions” on the relationship between the Prime Minister, Adani and his companies, which he raised during his speech in Parliament last month, should not be on the table. The whole ‘tamasha’ is created to divert attention from the “relevant questions” that are being raised, he said.

Rahul, who returned from the United Kingdom on Wednesday and came to Parliament around 12:45 PM, was in Lok Sabha when the House re-assembled at 2 PM but the House was adjourned less than a minute after re-assembling at 2 PM following protests. The situation with the Rajya Sabha was similar.

While other Opposition parties shouted slogans in both Houses demanding a JPC probe, Trinamool Congress MPs rushed to the Well of the House with their faces covered with black cloth or masks even before the proceedings started in what they later claimed as a protest against the ruling BJP for stalling business of Parliament. The morning session of both Houses was adjourned in less than two minutes.

Escalating the protests, sources said, the Opposition will also seek time from President Droupadi Murmu to urge her to intervene in the matter.

At 12 noon, Opposition MPs gathered outside the building and formed a human chain, which the leaders said was aimed at protecting democracy in the country and demanding a JPC probe into the Adani affair. This comes a day after Opposition MPs marched to the ED office to hand over a complaint against Adani but were stopped by police.

Shouting slogans against the government and holding placards against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani, MPs from almost all Opposition parties, barring Trinamool Congress, attended the protest. Rahul was also not present at the human chain protest.

“Why is the Prime Minister scared of setting up of the JPC when he has a majority,” Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.