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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

Mallikarjun Kharge takes potshot at PM Modi in Rajya Sabha, Chair expunges his remarks on RSS

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the upper house further said that the government was not doing anything on this matter and blamed Opposition parties for raising the issue in Parliament

PTI New Delhi Published 01.07.24, 08:45 PM
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar reacts as Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the House during ongoing Parliament session, in New Delhi.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar reacts as Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the House during ongoing Parliament session, in New Delhi. PTI picture.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday took a potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that the last 10 years of his rule was just a trailer and 'picture abhi baaki hai', saying the third term of NDA has seen exam paper leaks, terror attack in J&K, train accident, airport canopy collapse, bridges cave-ins and toll tax hike.

The Leader of Opposition also criticised the Prime Minister for his poll speeches and also levelled allegations against the ruling BJP's ideological parent RSS, but most of his remarks were expunged by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

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Participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha, he said the prime minister during the Lok Sabha election campaign stated many times that "pichle 10 saal toh bas trailer tha, abhi asli picture baaki hai" (last ten years was just a trailer, the real picture is yet to come).

"How the PM's picture would be, we have been able to imagine in the last one month," Kharge quipped.

Listing out many recent incidents, Kharge pointed out that there have been exam paper leaks, cancellation of many examinations, train accident, three terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, leakages in Ram temple, the collapse of canopy at three airports, an increase in toll taxes and depreciation of the rupee.

Kharge said the future of 30 lakh students has been affected due to recent paper leaks.

"If this keeps happening, students will stop their studies," he said In the last seven years, there have been paper leaks 70 times, Kharge said, adding that this has affected the future of 2 crore students.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the upper house further said that the government was not doing anything on this matter and blamed Opposition parties for raising the issue in Parliament.

He asked the government to improve the examination system in the country and demanded that the investigation be held under the watch of the Supreme Court.

Expressing dismay at the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament last week, he said the speech did not make any mention of the Manipur situation.

Kharge said the PM did not visit Manipur, which has been burning since the last one year.

While expunging Kharge's remarks on RSS, Dhankhar also defended the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling it an organisation engaged in working for the nation.

During his speech, Congress chief Kharge mentioned comments made by Modi in his election rallies and presented statistics showing the number of times the prime minister referred to minorities and Pakistan.

The Rajya Sabha chairman asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept newspaper clippings that the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.

Kharge was backed by his party colleague and former finance minister P Chidambaram, who asked how an opposition MP could authenticate what the prime minister has said other than by citing news reports.

The Chair, however, did not accept the arguments and expunged the remarks made by Kharge from the records.

Kharge insisted that he was only seeking to highlight the divisive nature of the speeches delivered by the prime minister. He also said no other prime minister before Modi had ever made such comments.

In his nearly 90-minute speech, which also saw several disruptions by the treasury benches and intervention by the Chair, Kharge repeatedly referred to the RSS and personalities associated with it.

Talking about the education system in the country, Kharge made certain allegations regarding the RSS.

Dhankhar said the comments stood expunged as it was not fair to level allegations against the RSS, an organisation engaged in nationalistic activities.

"Is it a crime to be a member of an organisation? You are saying a particular person is a member of the RSS, is that in itself a crime? The RSS is an organisation working for the nation. They have a lot of intelligent people," Dhankhar added.

Kharge cited a remark by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Manipur but that too was expunged, with Dhankar saying the Congress leader was contradicting himself.

Leader of the House and BJP president J P Nadda too objected to the remarks made by Kharge. He said the Congress leader had no knowledge about the RSS and whatever Kharge was saying about the organisation was regrettable.

"You are bashing an organisation, which is working tirelessly for the nation," Dhankhar said.

Later, Dhankhar emphasised that when the Chairman during the course of a debate deletes a portion, the reporting of that part becomes contempt of the House.

"It is a breach of privilege of the House. While the Leader of the Opposition was making his address to the house, I had from this chair deleted certain portions. It is unfortunate that from the official handle of his party, there is the propagation of the deleted portion," he said and asked the Leader of the Opposition and his party to take note of it.

Congress leader Kharge also raised the issue of relocation of statutes of prominent personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji from the Parliament premises.

In his speech, Kharge also demanded the scrapping of the Agniveer scheme and criticised the government for improper implementation of the 'one rank one pension' scheme for retired defence personnel.

Further, he attacked the government for atrocities against Dalits and women.

Dhankhar also informed the House that SP leader Jaya Bachchan was administered oath of office in the Chairman's chamber.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

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