Congress MPs want Om Birla to send Sonia-Smriti face-off to privilege panel

Congress MPs on Thursday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla hours after a bitter face-off between party president Sonia Gandhi and BJP MP Smriti Irani.

In the lower House of Parliament created an uproar and blame game between the ruling and Opposition camps.

The Congress sought Birla’s intervention in sending the matter to the Privilege Committee as it said the party president was “subjected to the outrageous misdemeanour by the ruling party MPs”.

The Congress said that Gandhi had walked over to a big group of BJP MPs to enquire about their nature protest (against party MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni’ remark on President Draupadi Murmu).

Congress MPs, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking his intervention in sending the matter of the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi “subjected to the outrageous misdemeanour by the Ruling Party’s MPs” to the Privilege Committee.

It said that when Gandhi and MP Rama Devi engaged in a civil dialogue, a big group of MPs (both male and female, including cabinet ministers) surrounded the Congress chief and subjected her to “verbal assault and physical intimidation”.

The situation had come to such a pass that Gandhi could have been injured seriously, the MPs said in the letter, adding Gandhi was finally escorted by women parliamentarians of the Congress and other Opposition MPs.

Earlier in the day, Chowdhury’s remark against Murmu, the country’s first tribal President, triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP and the Congress with parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi demanding an apology from Gandhi.

As the Lok Sabha adjourned after 12 noon, Gandhi walked across to the Treasury benches and sought to know from Rama Devi why she was dragged into the issue and that Chowdhury had already apologised for his remarks.

A witnesses who was present during the exchange told HT, “Just as she was returning, a group of BJP women MPs, including Smriti Irani, shouted at her and said that she should also apologise for the remarks against the President… At that point, Gandhi told Irani not to speak to her.”

Gandhi’s comment sparked a furore, with some BJP lawmakers even raising their voices. “Opposition MPs, mostly women, then came and led Gandhi away, but the BJP side kept protesting,” the person said.

Later, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding action against Irani.