Canada Uber Driver Tells Passenger He Would Have ‘Kidnapped Her If It Was Pakistan’
New Delhi, February 24
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the government was “scared” and will try to muzzle his voice in Parliament on the JNU issue even as sparks flew in the Lok Sabha as the raging JNU row and suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula was taken up for discussion.
The opposition accused the government of muzzling the voice of the youth and “mercilessly crushing” the principles of democracy.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said, “I will speak but they (government) will not let me speak because they are scared. They are scared of what I am going to say in Parliament, so they will not let me speak.”
Rahul has come out in support of JNU students, who are protesting the arrest of JNU students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charge, and has accused the RSS and BJP of imposing their ideology.
To counter the opposition onslaught, BJP targeted Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his “support” to those standing with hanged Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and said the House has to decide if it stands with those who attacked Parliament or those who laid down their lives defending it.
The debate, on the first working day of Budget session, saw accusations and counter-accusations, with both ruling and opposition sides underlining their credentials as “nationalists”.
Initiating the debate, Congress’ Chief Whip Jyotiraditya Scindia alleged “undue interference” by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya in Vemula’s case.
“Bandaru Dattaterya in his letter had called Rohith a castiest and an anti-national. Where in the world can you see a HRD minister writing five letters in any case,” he said.
Scindia questions Modi’s silence
Scindia also raised the issue of FTII, IIT Madras and JNU and said, “The government was trying to muzzle the voice of the youth.”
He also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying “He tweets on every other thing, but it took five days for him to speak on this matter, only after a worldwide uproar. There is no reference on in the Mann Ki Baat.”
Scindia said while the government was celebrating 125th century of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, it was not following its path. “There is huge gap between the talk and the act of the government.”
Scindia said nobody supports the slogans which were chanted in JNU but slogans cannot be criminalised and termed as treason.
JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was targeted for his opposition to RSS and ABVP, the Congress leader said.
Anurag Thakur leads BJP charge
From BJP side, Anurag Thakur raised the nationalist pitch over the JNU issue and attacked Congress, saying for the party, “it is ‘family first’, ‘party next’ and ‘nation last’. For us, it is ‘nation first’, ‘party next’ and ‘family last’.”
He alleged that Rahul Gandhi went to the university to support such outfits which were named by the previous UPA government as “frontal organisations” for Maoists.
“I want to ask Sonia ji, why your young leader was standing with those who stand with Afzal Guru,” Thakur said addressing the Congress President who was present there.
His speech saw protests from Congress members who raised a point of order, saying he was levelling “derogatory allegations” against Rahul, a contention rejected by the Speaker.
He alleged that when 74 security personnel were killed in a naxal attack in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh a few years back, there were celebrations in JNU.
