Hours after BJP issued a show cause notice to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri for using communal slurs against BSP MP Danish Ali in Lok Sabha, opposition parties including Congress, NCP, DMK and TMC moved privilege motions against the BJP MP.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Ali at his residence to show solidarity. "Nafrat ke bazaar mai mohabbat ki dukaan (Shop of love in the market of hatred)," Gandhi said in a post on 'X' after meeting him. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla over the issue of derogatory statements made by Ramesh Bidhuri against Danish Ali.
"Never in the history of the Parliament have such words been used against a member of the minority community, and that too in the presence of the speaker. Considering the circumstances and the brazen violation of all norms and rules relating to the functioning of the House, it would only be appropriate to have the matter examined in detail by the Privileges Committee and punitive action taken against the errant Member," Chowdhury wrote in the letter.
Opposition parties demand action
Opposition parties have demanded strict against Bidhuri who used terms like "Muslim ugrawadi" (Muslim terrorist), "Bharwa" (pimp), and "katwa" (circumcised) to refer to Danish Ali. DMK's Kanimozhi called for immediate action and said, "His words cannot be trivialized as mere unparliamentary language; they egregiously undermine the dignity of the Parliament and constitute a grievous affront to democracy and our entire nation."
TMC MP Aparuppa Poddar wrote to the Speaker seeking to refer the issue to Privileges Committee. "The precedents and practice show that the Committee of Privileges has the jurisdiction to examine questions of breach on privilege on statements made inside the House," the letter said.
NCP's Supriya Sule too moved a privilege motion against Bidhuri as the statements he made "prima facie constitutes a Breach of Privilege and they undermine the dignity of the Lok Sabha."
Meanwhile, Danish Ali said if action is not taken against the BJP MP, then he could consider quitting the membership of the House. He also said that people had not elected him to listen to "hate speeches". Demanding suspension of Bidhuri, Ali said, "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."
