New Delhi: Congress MP Hibi Eden Thursday submitted a notice in the Lok Sabha for moving a privilege motion, alleging the “breach of parliamentary rights and immunities” of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and women MPs of the party during their protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
In his letter to the Lok Sabha secretary general, Eden said that despite the protest being peaceful, police brutally manhandled the protesting MPs, especially Gandhi.
He said it is most unfortunate that the leader of opposition (LoP) of this country was dragged by police and forcibly taken to Chhatrasal Stadium.
“I hereby give notice for a privilege motion in relation to the breach of parliamentary rights and immunities of LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi and women MPs from the Congress Party,” Eden said.
He said the MPs of the Congress were peacefully protesting on July 21 in solidarity with the students and youth of this country “against the brutal assaults on them the previous day”.
“It is important to note that the students and youth of our country have been protesting since many days against the paper leaks and examination irregularities carried out under the aegis of the Central Government. The country, particularly the youth, is demanding the resignation of Shr. Dharmendra Pradhan, the current education minister of India,” Eden said.
The Congress, under the leadership of Gandhi, has been echoing the sentiments of the youth of the country and has been consistently demanding the resignation of Pradhan and fixing of accountability for the recent paper leaks, he said.
The BJP-led central government, however, has refused to pay heed to the country’s demand and has not taken any action on the issue, Eden said in his notice.
Furthermore, the government, to clamp down on dissent and protests, brutally assaulted students on July 20, when they were peacefully carrying out a protest march in Delhi, he said.
On July 21, the MPs, especially Gandhi, were raising this extremely disturbing issue of “police brutality” against students and the youth, including assaults on women and youngsters, along with the issue of paper leaks and resignation of the education minister, he said.
“Despite the protest being peaceful, the police brutally manhandled the protesting MPs, especially Shri Rahul Gandhi, and it is most unfortunate that the LoP of this country was dragged by the police and forcibly taken to Chhatrasal Stadium. It is pertinent to note that the LoP holds a very significant position in Parliament and the LoP is considered the shadow prime minister,” the Congress MP said.
The treatment meted out to Gandhi evidenced the government’s complete neglect of democratic principles and parliamentary norms and ethics, he alleged.
“I wish to further highlight that women MPs were also manhandled and assaulted in broad daylight, which is a telling episode on how the present-day government treats women and those who oppose them,” the MP from Kerala said.
Police and the present-day government, therefore, have completely breached the parliamentary privileges and rights of Gandhi and other Congress MPs, especially women MPs, including rights relating to freedom of speech and peaceful protest, Eden alleged.
“I therefore urge you to please take notice of this motion and initiate immediate action in relation to the same,” he added.
Eden’s notice comes after Gandhi, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, was forcibly removed by police from the dharna outside Modi’s residence on Tuesday.
The surprise sit-in in the high-security zone sent the government into a tizzy, prompting it to rush Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, along with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, to persuade the opposition leaders to vacate the sensitive site.
Gandhi’s discussion with the minister lasted a few minutes, after which Singh and the home secretary left as the talks remained inconclusive.
Soon after Singh left the protest site, police forcibly removed and detained Gandhi and other leaders in the evening.
Gandhi was taken to the Chhatrasal stadium in Model Town after his detention and released a few hours later.
