The opposition dal hurled abuses on Thursday on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, demanding a debate on wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics. Matters escalated to the point where Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar had to temporarily step down due to his disgust at the disturbance, which showed how ‘unprecedented’ and ‘indigestible’ the opposition had become.
Fuming over the opposition parties, Dhankhar told them that their conduct was turning this sacred House into a center of anarchy and demeaning the dignity of the post of the Speaker. He tried to convey the message that the challenge for him as chairperson was not coming as a defiance against him but against the chairperson’s post.
The commotion began soon after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge mentioned the disqualification case of Phogat in the Wrestling Federation of India just a day before the grappler’s 50 kg freestyle gold medal bout. Kharge questioned its authors, to which the Rajya Sabha chairperson said it evoked pain, starting from the President of India to the Prime Minister of India.
In an effort to calm down the opposition’s rampage, Dhankhar said that the whole country was in some amount of pain and that the matter should not be turned into a political debate. He also appreciated the Haryana government for its promptness in providing monetary assistance and recognition in the form of a medal to Phogat.
However, the opposition members wouldn’t turn the other cheek, forcing Dhankhar to scold TMC MP Derek O’Brien for raising his voice at the chair and warning him he would show him the door if he continued with such indecent conduct.
During the continuation of the commotion, the opposition INDIA bloc parties finally left the House, and Congress MP Pramod Tiwari alleged that the government was not ready to discuss the factors leading to Phogat’s Olympics disqualification.
The indomitable cases of dominance evident from disruption in the Rajya Sabha bear the signs of an escalation of conflict between the ruling government and the opposition as they address issues of public concern, including the Vinesh Phogat saga.
