Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked the RSS in Rajya Sabha but his remarks were expunged with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar saying that the Sangh fountainhead is a well-known organisation working for the country.
Kharge was participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Upper House when his repeated remarks on RSS and its ideology attracted the ire of the treasury benches and expunction from the records.
Also the Congress president, Kharge also targeted the BJP-led NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to the latter's statement that his ten-year-rule was just a trailer and 'picture abhi baaki hai'.
In his close to 1:25 hour speech, Kharge said under the new NDA government, one has seen exam paper leaks, cancellation of many examinations, train accidents, terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, leakages in Ram temple, collapse of canopy at three airports, increase in toll taxes and fall of rupee.
He also spoke about abolition of the controversial Agnipath military recruitment scheme, paper leaks and NEET among other issues.
However, it was Kharge's references on RSS that triggered vociferous protests from the ruling side with Leader of the House JP Nadda seeking expunction of his remarks from the record. Kharge insisted that it is his viewpoint and it will remain so till casteism and untouchability remain.
Ordering the removal of his remarks from Parliamentary records, Dhankhar said, "is it a crime to be a member of an organisation (RSS)? You are saying it has captured institutions. What is wrong with someone being an RSS member? It is an organisation working for the country. It is well-known and serves the country."
Emphasising that the future of 30 lakh students has been affected due to recent paper leaks, "if this keeps happening, students will stop their study. In recent years, there have been paper leaks 70 times. This has affected the future of two crore students."
He accused the government of not doing anything in this matter but blames the Opposition for raising it in Parliament.
Targeting the government over the president's address not mentioning Manipur, he said the Prime Minister did not visit Manipur, which has been witnessing violence since May 2023. "Why didn't the Prime Minister go to Manipur?" he asked.
On elections, he said the results ensured that the BJP had to bow down before the Constitution but warned that the Opposition's 'save Constitution' project should continue as there are people who have problems with 'Jai Samvidhan' (Hail, Constitution) slogans.
He also said the BJP ran the Parliament in the past ten years like there was no need for Opposition. They did not even elect a Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha while it is a Constitutional position.
Referring to Modi's remarks that 'one Modi is enough', Kharge said, "now I want to say, the Constitution and people are enough to deal with people with arrogance." He also found fault with the removal of the statues to a new place, claiming that they were now moved to an obscure place.