BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri used crude and communal slurs against Bahujan Samaj Party member Kunwar Danish Ali on the floor of the Lok Sabha late on September 21 evening, creating a political storm.
Speaker Om Birla warned Mr. Bidhuri that strict action would be taken if such behaviour was repeated and the words were expunged from the record. But Opposition MPs are firm in their demand that Mr. Bidhuri be suspended from the Lok Sabha.
By mid evening on September 22, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid a call on Mr. Ali to express his solidarity with him, and responded to press queries on the purpose of his visit as “Nafrat ke bazaar main Mohabbat ki dukaan” (In the market place of hate, a shop of love), reinforcing the Congress’ accusations that the BJP does “communal politics”. Constituents of the INDIA bloc followed it up by sending identical letters to the Speaker to demand that the matter be referred to the Privileges Committee. Interestingly, Mr. Ali’s own party, the BSP, has maintained a distance from the INDIA bloc so far.
