New Delhi: Congress, which is targeting minister V K Singh over the ‘dog’ remark, today raised the issue in Lok Sabha in a different way with party leader Mallikarjun Kharge protesting deletion of certain comments made by him on the issue last week. Kharge complained to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan during the Zero Hour that part of what he had said in the House on December 2 on issue related to Singh has not become part of the records despite the fact that she had not expunged any of his statements on that day.
The Speaker told him that he could not raise an issue without giving any prior notice as she was herself unaware of the matter. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy objected to the Congress leader speaking in this manner, saying it was like “free for all” which cannot be permitted.
Kharge referred to certain rules to which Mahajan said, “There are no rules in the Zero Hour. I don’t even know the subject. You give notice and I will look into it.”
The Congress leader said it was “gross injustice”. Some other opposition leaders, including P Karunakaran (CPI-M), urged the Speaker to let Kharge speak. The opposition party has been trying to corner the government over controversial ‘dog’ remarks of Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, after two Dalit children were burnt alive in Haryana.
Party MPs led by Rahul Gandhi earlier in the day today staged a protest outside Parliament House demanding the minister’s removal. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Anand Sharma, Deepender Hooda and several others participated in the protest held shortly before the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha assembled for the day.
In the wake of the killing of the Dalit children in Faridabad in October, Singh had kicked up a storm with his comments that the Centre cannot be blamed if somebody throws a stone at a dog. The government has been insisting that Singh had made the comment in a different context and he had clarified time and again.
