The country wants to know the relationship between former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and US billionaire George Soros, BJP president JP Nadda said in Rajya Sabha today. Mr Nadda, Union Health Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, today slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his remarks against Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Congress-led Opposition has brought a no-confidence against the Upper House Chairman.
Defending the Chair, Mr Nadda said, “The Chair cannot be questioned with regard to the admissibility or for other purposes. The Chairman’s ruling cannot be questioned or criticised. To do so is contempt of the House or Chairman.”
“Yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Kharge ji, a senior leader, criticised the Chair in a press conference. This is objectionable and condemnable. This sets a wrong precedent. We cannot condemn this enough,” the BJP chief said.
Mr Nadda said Mr Kharge has alleged that he is not given the opportunity to speak in the House. “You have been called to the chamber, and letters have been written by the Chair to the Leader of the Opposition, but the LoP denied it and he has not participated in meetings. This shows your interest in democratic processes.”
The Congress’s official social media handle, Mr Nadda said, had referred to the Rajya Sabha Chairman as a “cheerleader”. “The people will not forgive this perverted attempt to demean constitutional post. You are worried about democratic values and constitutional values. This is the same parliament where your senior leader shot a video of your mimicry,” he said. Mr Nadda was referring to Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of Mr Dhankhar after a mass suspension of Opposition MPs. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, now Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, was caught on camera shooting Mr Banerjee’s antics.
The BJP chief said Mr Kharge’s press conference is the Congress’s attempt to deflect attention from the “main issue”. “The country wants to know the relationship between Sonia Gandhi and Soros. Soros, who donates billions of dollars to destabilise the country, and Congress acts like his puppet and raises his issues,” he said.
In response, Mr Kharge said, “The Leader of the House said that no one should talk against the Chairman’s decisions and this amounts to contempt. They want to divert the issue.” Amid the pandemonium, the Chairman adjourned the House proceedings.
