Parliament back in chaos as BJP says Rahul, global news network together in ‘derailing’ India

In the Rajya Sabha, MP Sudhanshu Trivedi brought up the issue, with the BJP leaders saying that the Congress had stalled Parliament on the basis of various reports published by OCCRP, including on the Pegasus spying row, the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines developed in India, and the Hindenburg report against the Gautam Adani group. Dubey said many of these media reports coincided with Parliament Sessions in India.

As the Opposition protested, both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned without transacting any major business.

The Congress called the BJP’s allegations part of “a pattern followed by the BJP to stop the party and its leadership from raising crucial issues, particularly the charges against the Adani Group”. It said Thursday’s disruption also meant that Gandhi could not raise the violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, over a Mughal-era mosque to which a Hindu group has laid claim.

BJP’s Nishikant Dubey in Lok Sabha on Thursday. (PTI)

The charges of global conspiracy were raised by the BJP the same day as Congress MPs, along with leaders of other INDIA parties, came to Parliament wearing black jackets with stickers reading “Modi Adani Ek Hai” and “Adani Safe Hai” on them. Congress whip Manickam Tagore claimed this “unique” protest by the party had stirred “the whole BJP and the government machinery into action to raise wild allegations”.

However, the move also drew a rap from Speaker Om Birla, who cited Rule 349 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha to urge MPs not to sport lapel pins and badges other than the Tricolour in Parliament.

Tagore said it was not the first time that Dubey had raised similar “baseless” charges to shift the attention from real issues. “People will understand this pattern… They have no intention to run Parliament smoothly.”

In the Monsoon Session last year, under the previous Modi government, Dubey had said the Congress, news portal NewsClick and two journalists were linked to China “by an umbilical cord”, and accused the party of hobnobbing with “anti-nationals” to “divide” the country and create anarchy.

Congress MPs asked why Dubey was allowed to speak before Gandhi, who wanted to raise the Sambhal violence; on Wednesday, the Leader of the Opposition was stopped from proceeding to Sambhal by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said: “We wanted to raise the travel ban of the LoP to Sambhal. The Speaker allowed Nishikant Dubey to speak… Defamatory words were used against the LoP, Wayanad MP (Priyanka Vadra Gandhi) and the entire Congress… In the history of Parliament, these kinds of derogatory remarks were never used.”

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Dubey said: “If OCCRP puts out any report, the Congress party immediately tweets it. There are three issues, the first one is Pegasus, when Parliament was unable to run properly… Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and (Shiv Sena-UBT leader) Sanjay Raut tweeted… Second was Hindenburg… on which (Congress leader) Jairam Ramesh, Sanjay Raut tweeted… Thirdly the vaccine issue.” In each case, Dubey said, Parliament could not function.

Dubey then went on to name some individuals and asked what Gandhi’s relations were with them. “You met those who want to create Khalistan, who want to separate Kashmir.”

Agitated over Dubey’s remarks, Congress MPs rushed to the well of the House. Congress leaders initially persuaded the members to go back to their seats so that the party could raise the issues it wanted to. But when called by the Speaker to raise the Sambhal violence, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi began by countering the allegations levelled by Dubey – provoking an uproar in the House again.

Putting the blame on the Opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rjiju said: “They came to Parliament wearing colourful clothes, and outside, they started a fashion show with those clothes… Such disruptions will achieve nothing; they won’t fetch votes.”

Vadra shared a video on X of the Opposition MPs protesting inside Parliament, saying: “The people of the country want that the Adani mega scam should be discussed in Parliament… but Narendra Modi and the government are constantly running away.”

In the Rajya Sabha, BJP MP Trivedi sought a probe into “foreign interference” in India’s affairs and the “attacks on India’s economic, moral and social interests”. He went on to cite a news report by a French publication – that he did not name – that said the OCCRP receives foreign government funding and its focus was on India. “Along with receiving foreign funding, they also have a connection to George Soros,” Trivedi said.

He appeared to be referring to a report by Mediapart that OCCRP, which claims to be the world’s largest organised network of investigative media, hid the extent of its links with the US government.

As Trivedi finished his address, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he had raised a serious issue and the Opposition MPs would be allowed to present their views. “We cannot allow the largest democracy to be made dysfunctional by the deep state,” he said, even as the Opposition MPs protested.

In a statement, OCCRP denied the allegations being raised about its funding and the suggestion “that we are influenced by our donors”. OCCRP also said that being a donor-funded organisation, it had built safeguards into its editorial process and has always been open about its funders. “All of these documents are publicly available,” the statement said.

Outside Parliament too, the BJP repeated the allegations against the Congress and Gandhi. Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra described the Congress leader as a “traitor of the highest order”. “I have no hesitation in saying (this),” he said, adding, “OCCRP and Rahul Gandhi are two bodies and one soul.”

The remarks by Patra prompted the Congress to write to Speaker Birla, seeking “stringent action” against the BJP MP for his “highly slanderous language”. Patra’s conduct was “a clear violation” of the decorum and ethics expected of an MP, Tagore said.