Chaos In Parliament: BJP, Congress File Cross-Complaints Over Scuffle As 'Assault' Row Heats Up

Chaos In Parliament: A heated faceoff between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over an alleged physical scuffle outside Parliament on Thursday took a new turn after NDA MPs filed police complaints accusing each other of assault and misconduct.

Three NDA MPs, including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj, have filed a police complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of being involved in "physical assault and incitement" during a scuffle at Parliament, an officer said, as reported by news agency PTI.

BJP MPs Thakur and Swaraj, accompanied by a TDP MP, met the officers at the Parliament Street Police Station and gave a written complaint.

Speaking to media persons outside the police station, Thakur said, "We have filed a complaint against Mr. Rahul Gandhi for physical assault and incitement." The BJP leader said that they have given a complaint under Sections 109, 115, 117, 125, 131, and 351. Section 109 is an attempt to murder; Section 117 is voluntary causing grievous hurt.

"We have filed a complaint with Delhi Police against Rahul Gandhi for assault and incitement. We have mentioned in detail the incident that happened today outside Makar Dwar, where NDA MPs were protesting peacefully... We have given a complaint under Sections 109, 115, 117, 125, 131, and 351. Section 109 is an attempt to murder; Section 117 is voluntary causing grievous hurt," he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: BJP MP Anurag Thakur says, "We have filed a complaint with Delhi Police against Rahul Gandhi for assault and incitement. We have mentioned in detail the incident that happened today outside Makar Dwar, where NDA MPs were protesting peacefully... We have given a… pic.twitter.com/sKQYaTbJG9 — ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2024

Shortly after, a delegation of Congress MPs, including women MPs, approached Parliament Street Police, accusing BJP leaders of misbehaving with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge during a scuffle in the Parliament premises. 

Congress MP Digvijaya Singh accused the BJP of resorting to theatrics to divert attention from remarks made about Dr BR Ambedkar. "It is in BJP's character to level false allegations. They (BJP) have orchestrated this 'natak' and 'nautanki' to counter what they have said about Babasaheb Ambedkar... All this happened due to the confrontationist way of BJP MPs. Mallikarjun Kharge was pushed and misbehaved," Singh told reporters. 

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also claimed that Mallikarjun Kharge was deliberately pushed, describing the incident as a "conspiracy." "The way a Dalit leader was abused the day before yesterday, and today he was pushed--this is all a conspiracy," Tiwari said. 

Congress MP Jebi Mather alleged that the BJP MPs had conspired to disrupt their peaceful protest. "We were taking out a peaceful march from Babasaheb Ambedkar statue to Makar Dwar. All these days we have been doing peaceful protests. Today, a conspiracy was hatched by the ruling dispensation- BJP MPs, the way they treated Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji and other women MPs is unfortunate. They (BJP MPs) wanted to create a scene, and that's exactly what they did," Mather said, as quoted by ANI.

The allegations came after both the NDA and INDIA bloc parties staged a protest in Parliament, leading to an alleged scuffle leaving two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput, injured.

The scuffle took place over the alleged insult to B. R. Ambedkar, leaving former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi injured. The saffron party accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a charge rejected by the Congress leader. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said BJP MP Mukesh Rajput was also injured in the melee.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Sarangi and Rajput and inquired about their health after they sustained injuries in the Parliament complex, news agency ANI reported, citing sources. A senior officer said police have received the complaint and are looking into it.

(With agencies Inputs)