Congress Walks Out of Rajya Sabha During Prime Minister’s Speech

The Congress-led Opposition staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The walkout occurred during the Prime Minister’s reply to the ‘Motion of Thanks’ in the Upper House. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the Prime Minister was saying some ‘wrong things’.

Addressing reporters after the walkout, Kharge criticized the Prime Minister, accusing him of lying and misleading people. Kharge stated, ‘It’s his habit to lie, mislead people and say things beyond truth. I have just asked him that, when he was speaking about the Constitution, you didn’t make the Constitution, you people were against it.’

Kharge further clarified that he wanted to highlight who supported the Constitution and who opposed it. He mentioned that the RSS had criticized the Constitution in 1950, and effigies of Ambedkar and Nehru were burnt. He accused the current government of falsely claiming to support the Constitution.

Those who walked out with Kharge included Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar. Pawar defended Kharge, demanding respect for his constitutional position. Pawar said, ‘He (Mallikarjun Kharge) is on a constitutional post. Be it the PM or the Chairman of the House, it’s their responsibility to respect him, but today it was all ignored and hence the entire opposition is with him, and hence we walked out.’