Uproar over remarks on Congress and RSS

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 7

Objectionable remarks made against the Congress and RSS by legislators in the Vidhan Sabha resulted in acrimonious exchanges, compelling Speaker Rajeev Bindal to expunge the remarks.

Remarks by Congress MLA Harshwardhan Chauhan about the RSS enraged the BJP legislators. Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri also made remarks against the RSS.

Efforts by Speaker Rajeev Bindal to pacify both sides failed to yield results. Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj made certain remarks about the founders of the Congress. This evoked sharp reaction from Congress members who demanded that the remarks be expunged as they were derogatory.

Taking strong objection to the remarks by the Education Minister, former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the choice of words and the intention behind such utterances was highly objectionable and derogatory. He urged the Speaker to expunge the remarks, which was accepted by the latter.

“Maybe I should not be saying so but I would like to say that the RSS had no connection with Nathu Ram Godse so it is wrong to link RSS with him. Moreover, a court ruling was also made in this regard and it was Jawaharlal Nehru who lifted the ban on the RSS,” remarked Bindal.

Bhardwaj said if the Congress had the right to say anything about RSS then they should also be willing to listen. It was almost after half an hour that normalcy was restored in the house.