A face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs in Parliament premises over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar left former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi injured. The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a charge rejected by the Congress leader.
Trouble began when the INDIA bloc members insisted on entering Parliament through the BJP MPs holding a protest instead of using the space left empty on one side of the staircase of the Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said BJP MP Mukesh Rajput was also injured in the melee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Sarangi and Rajput and enquired about their health after they sustained injuries in the Parliament complex, sources said.
The 69-year-old Sarangi, a BJP member from Balasore in Odisha, suffered injuries on the left temple of his forehead. BJP member Nishikant Dubey accused Gandhi of pushing the senior leader.
“Are you not ashamed Rahul, you are resorting to rowdy behaviour (‘gundagardi’). You pushed an old man,” a furious Dubey charged Gandhi.