- Wednesday, February 05, 2025
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s attack prompted a temporary adjournment of the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha too witnessed chaos over the same issue
By: Shajil Kumar
A VERBAL battle took place in the Parliament on Thursday after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Rahul Gandhi of being a “traitor of the highest order” having links with “some agencies of America” and billionaire George Soros.
The Congress party strongly condemned the attack and called out Dubey for using “derogatory words” and the leader of the opposition. This led to chaos and a temporary adjournment of the Lok Sabha.
The BJP made this accusation to counter the Congress party’s ongoing offensive against the government over US prosecutors indicting Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani in an alleged bribery case.
In the Rajya Sabha, another BJP MP, Sudhanshu Trivedi, alleged “suspicious and conspicuous attacks on national interest from abroad”.
He was referring to a news report by French publication Mediapart that claimed links between the Amsterdam-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the US government.
Mediapart also claimed that the OCCRP was financially and structurally dependent on the US government and also funded by Open Foundation, run by Soros.
The BJP claimed that OCCRP has published news reports “targeting” India, and the Congress had used those reports to criticise the ruling party and Indian business interests.
The Congress leader KC Venugopal said that Dubey’s remarks attacking the leader of opposition, Wayanad MP (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) and the entire Congress party was totally unacceptable.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor attacked Dubey for his “outrageous statement”. “No 1, you cannot attack people in a defamatory manner. No 2, you cannot take anyone’s name without giving them notice in writing in advance, and No 3, you cannot assault parliamentary privilege.”
Tharoor said Dubey “violated all those three rules and he was allowed to go on speaking and ranting for quite some time,” he told reporters.
Earlier at a news conference, BJP leader Sambit Patra had claimed that Soros and some US-based agencies, OCCRP and Gandhi occupy three sides of a “dangerous” triangle trying to destabilise India and stoke public disaffection for a regime change in the country.
“I have no hesitation in saying that he (Gandhi) is a traitor of the highest order,” Patra said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, expressing deep concern over BJP’s Sambit Patra allegedly using “slanderous language” against Rahul Gandhi at a media interaction, and sought stringent action against the ruling party leader.
In his letter to Birla, Tagore alleged that Patra’s conduct was a “clear violation” of the decorum and ethics expected of a member of Parliament.
“Such behaviour not only tarnishes the image of Parliament but also insults the dignity of a high constitutional office. As a custodian of Parliament, I urge you to take immediate and stringent action against Sambit Patra,” the Congress MP from Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar and the party’s whip in the Lok Sabha said. (Agencies)
