The Congress on Friday said that the first information report (FIR) against Rahul Gandhi in connection with the scuffle in Parliament is nothing but “a diversionary tactic” in response to his staunch protest against the Union home minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar.
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that a case against Rahul Gandhi for defending Babasaheb’s legacy is a “badge of honour”.
“The FIR against Shri Rahul Gandhi ji is nothing but a diversionary tactic in response to his staunch protest against the Home Minister.” Venugopal wrote in the post.
“A case against him for defending Babasaheb’s legacy is a badge of honour. And in any case, Rahul ji is already facing 26 FIRs due to the BJP’s political vendetta and this latest FIR will not stop him or the Congress from standing up against the casteist RSS-BJP regime.”
Further, he also questioned that while the Delhi Police has filed the FIR based on a complaint by MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), no such step has been taken on the complaint filed by the women MPs of the Congress.
“At the same time, why has the Delhi Police not acted on the FIRs filed by women MPs of INC against the BJP leaders who physically assaulted them?” he sought to know.
FIR against Rahul Gandhi
The Delhi Police on Thursday registered the FIR against Rahul Gandhi in connection with the scuffle at Parliament where two BJP MPs were injured.
The BJP had filed a police complaint against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “physical assault and incitement” during a scuffle in Parliament premises, and sought his indictment under sections of attempt to murder and other charges.
The complaint was filed at the Parliament Street Police Station by BJP MP Hemang Joshi. BJP’s Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj accompanied him.
Gandhi has been booked under section 117 (voluntary causing grievous hurt), 125 (act of endangering life or personal safety of others), 131 (use of criminal force), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The Congress, too, filed a complaint at the same police station, alleging that BJP leaders misbehaved with their chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, and demanded an FIR under the sections of “assault, grievous hurt and battery” against them.
Scuffle in Parliament
Ugly scenes unfolded in Parliament on Thursday after the BJP and the Congress accused each other of assault and shoving. Two BJP MPs sustained injuries, and a woman MP claimed intimidation by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress refuted the allegations and said BJP legislators blocked Rahul Gandhi’s way and pushed Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, injuring him in the knee.
The controversy erupted near the steps of Parliament’s Makar Dwar, an entrance and exit reserved for lawmakers, when members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) were holding concurrent protests over Amit Shah’s statement on BR Ambedkar.