Caste should not be dragged into every issue, should I say I’m not allowed to speak because I’m a Dalit: Kharge

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that caste should not be dragged into every issue and used to incite people. He also said that should he say that he is not allowed to speak in the House because he is a Dalit?

Kharge also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for not speaking in both the Houses despite Parliament being in session and making statements outside the House. Kharge asked if Modi and Shah had boycotted the Parliament.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, “Caste should not be dragged into every issue and used to incite people. If I am not allowed to speak, should I say it is because I am Dalit?”

Kharge also slammed the BJP for passing a resolution in the House for mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar outside Parliament. He said, “The mimicry incident took place outside the House, however, a resolution was passed in the House condemning it. Is it justified? We don’t want to disrespect anyone as it is not in our character.”

Taking a swipe at Modi and Shah, Kharge said, “Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Shah are here. Why are they not coming to the House? Have they boycotted the House? This (December 13 Parliament security breach) is a serious issue.”

He said, if one cannot talk on the serious issue in the House, where will they talk? “They are talking in Ahmedabad, Varanasi, and speaking through television. This is privilege. When the House is running then one should not make a major statement outside Parliament. But all the rules and regulations are being shattered,” he alleged.

The remarks came after the NDA MPs in Rajya Sabha stood up and took part in the House proceeding on Wednesday to express their support to Dhankhar after Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP, Kalyan Banerjee, mimicked him on Tuesday while staging a protest outside, at the Parliament building Makar Dwar.

Meanwhile, Congress Lok Sabha MP, Shashi Tharoor, also slammed the Union Government for the suspension of 141 MPs for the remainder of the Winter Session and said that it’s a travesty of parliamentary democracy.

Tharoor, who was also suspended from Lok Sabha on Monday, while speaking to the media in the Parliament premises said, “Now, what we have seen in the country in the last few days is a travesty of parliamentary democracy. Never in the entire history of parliamentary democracy has any Parliament in any country in the world ever suspended or expelled 150 MPs.

“That is the dubious record that has been set by the Parliament. Everyone understands a basic principle of parliamentary democracy is the accountability of the ministers to the Parliament.”

Tharoor said that when Parliament is in session, if anything happens, the Government must come to Parliament and discuss it with the MPs before going out.

“When the Opposition called for a discussion on the security breach and requested that the Home Minister should come and speak to Parliament, the Home Minister did not come and was not ready to speak. He was giving statements outside to the media, he was giving press interviews, but he was not prepared to speak inside Parliament. This is why the Opposition protested,” he said.

The Congress leader also said that they (Opposition MPs) wanted to participate in major debates on matters of national importance.

“But what we have seen, sadly, is that the Government has no interest in letting the Opposition function responsibly in Parliament,” Tharoor added.

–IANS

aks/rad