Rahul Gandhi Should Be Prosecuted, Only If he is Guilty

What had happened in the premises of parliament yesterday(19th December) is unprecedented in many ways, first is MPs from both the ruling coalition and that of opposition bloc protested against each other over Ambedkar and second is MPs getting injured in the scuffle.

However, the most striking feature of the unprecedented character of yesterday’s happening is that the ruling dispensation protested against the opposition. It is hard to recall where ruling party protests against those who are out of power, that too amidst a parliament session. In the protest against the opposition, the ruling party asked why Ambedkar was not conferred with Bharat Ratna during Congress government. 

The nation knows where it all started—Amit Shah’s comment on Ambedkar in one of his speeches in the parliament. As we all know what Mr. Shah had told, the analysis of his comment is a different part. Here, let us try to see the whatabouteries.

BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Bansuri Swaraj and Hemang Joshi lodged FIR against Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Mr. Thakur sought the FIR to include section 109 (attempt to murder) of the BNS. Police however, did not included section 109, while other sections including section 115 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) amongst others. 

As the incident happened in front of the parliament house, the CCTVs must have captured the details of it and a proper investigation would reveal the truth. The CCTV footage are not available to public and if  a proper investigation finds Rahul Gandhi guilty as accused by the BJP leaders, he should immediately be prosecuted. The nation believes that an impartial investigation will be conducted.

First let’s see what Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said. He commented that the leader of opposition pushed two MPs of Lok Sabha from the ruling side so hard that they bled and had to be admitted in hospital. Rijiju also accused Gandhi of physically charging a woman MP of BJP and also pushed her. “The behaviour of the Congress is so shameful that we can’t even believe it”—Rijiju commented. 

If Rahul Gandhi had indeed assaulted a woman MP and injured two others, then there is no place of a debate—he should be disqualified immediately from the parliament and prosecuted.

But there are some points to ponder about with what have come out to the public in general and there are some visible inconsistencies amongst the versions of BJP leaders.

The two MPs who sustained injuries, namely Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput said about what happened and it differs from what Rijiju said. Sarangi said that Rahul pushed another MP who eventually fell on him while Rajput said that Rahul was in the front and the push came from behind. Neither of them said that Rahul Gandhi himself had hit them as Rijiju believes.

Again the woman MP, Phangon Konyak from Nagaland, said in her written complain to the Rajya Sabha chairperson told that Gandhi came “very close physical proximity” and “misbehaved with a loud voice”. 
The BJP members were seen holding placards with large sticks while the Congress members were displaying B.R. Ambedkar’s photograph.

Congress members responded by shouting “Jai Bhim” when their way was blocked to get into the house. Is blocking the way to the parliament to be considered a reasonable practice? 

Thinking reasonably amidst such a heated environment may be tough, but that must be tried to practice. And it is a part of the law abiding citizens to think reasonably and demand an impartial enquiry.