The opposition demanded Bidhuri’s suspension even as Speaker Om Birla took “serious note” and warned the MP of “strict action” if such behaviour was repeated.Ali lamented that if a minority member was attacked with communal slurs inside Parliament, what would be the fate of ordinary Muslims.
May quit Lok Sabha if Speaker does not take action: BSP’s Ali
“This is nothing less than hate speech. This is hate speech on the floor of the House. Hate speeches were being made outside Parliament but now hate speech has been delivered on the floor of the House by a BJP MP,” Ali said. “I expect that the Speaker will take action on this. But if action is not taken, then with a heavy heart, I can consider quitting the membership of this House because people have not sent me to Parliament to listen to hate speeches,” he added.
Ali wrote to the Speaker demanding an investigation by the privileges committee into Bidhuri’s “most foul” comments while Congress, NCP, TMC and DMK wrote to Birla separately with the same demand. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with party general secretary K C Venugopal, visited Ali at his residence to express solidarity with him. Ali is said to have broken down in front of Rahul Gandhi, asking what crime had he committed to deserve this humiliation.
It capped a day of high emotions, when opposition members lashed out at BJP for nurturing “hate speech” to the extent of defiling Parliament, and Congress demanding that the Speaker refer the matter to the privileges committee. Party spokesman Jairam Ramesh said members had been punished with suspension for non-offences like raising slogans, while Bidhuri’s actions were an insult to every MP and Parliament. “The PM claims ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka prayas, sabka vishwas’. It is all bakwas,” Ramesh said.
Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “What is even more regrettable is the fact that this unprecedented, unfortunate and unsavoury incident has happened during the special session of Parliament.”
BSP president Mayawati said it was unfortunate that BJP did not take appropriate action against Bidhuri.
CPM demanded that Bidhuri be arrested immediately, for which there could be no parliamentary privileges.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said “abusing Muslims and OBCs is an integral part of BJP’s culture”.
‘Truly heartbreaking’: BSP MP Danish Ali demands action against Ramesh Bidhuri for using objectionable remarks for him on floor of house
BJP chides Bidhuri, sends showcause notice
BJP on Friday said the party leadership has admonished Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri and has issued a showcause notice to him for his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in Parliament. The party, however, asked opposition parties what action they had taken against their leaders for using abusive language against PM Narendra Modi more than 90 times. “BJP strongly condemns the use of any kind of abusive language. Taking immediate cognisance of the indecent remarks made by a BJP MP in the House, party president J P Nadda has issued a show-cause notice to the MP and asked him to reply within 10 days. Therefore, there should not be any kind of politics on this,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said. Soon after the incident, defence minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in the House, had expressed regret for his party MP’s remarks.
Ramesh Bidhuri’s communal slurs, Harsh Vardhan, Ravi Shankar criticized for laughing Danish Ali
Congress pulls up its MP in Chair for ‘inaction’
Congress is said to have reprimanded its senior Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh for “inaction” as the presiding officer in Lok Sabha when Ramesh Bidhuri hurled abuses at BSP’s Danish Ali. A Malayalam speaker, Suresh could not grasp what was said by the BJP MP and responded to the commotion in a perfunctory manner. Asenior Congress office-bearer is said to have spoken to him. Speaking to TOI, Suresh said he could not understand what was said in Hindi, while the English translation was very slow, and that made it impossible to comprehend the words.
Watch BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s abuses against Danish Ali anger MPs
