Opposition BSP and the Congress created uproar in the Rajya Sabha protesting against assault on two Muslim women at Mandsaur railway station in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly possessing beef whereas veterinary test showed that the meat seized from the women was that of buffalo. No sooner had listed papers been laid on the table of the House, BSP chief Mayawati raised the issue, linking it with similar assault on Dalits by ‘Gau Raksha’ groups in Gujarat.
She alleged that the incident at the Mandsaur railway station occurred in the presence of police which remained a mute spectator. The BSP supremo charged the BJP that while it talks of protecting the girl child and giving dignity and honour to women, it has no qualms about unleashing goons on them in the name of cow protection.
Mayawati asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to respond to targeting of women of his community in the name of cow protection. As she completed her submission, BSP members trooped into the Well of the House shouting anti-Government slogans. The Congress members too joined them in the well.
Deputy leader of Opposition Anand Sharma asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not responded to attacks on Dalits in name of ‘Gau Raksha’. “He has done ‘chai-pe-charcha’ (talk over tea) and ‘mann-ki-baat’ (straight talk from heart) but why not on this issue,” he asked.
Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said derailing Zero Hour, where 13 members have given notices was not right and if members wanted a discussion on the subject, they should give notice.
leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said his Congress party was not principally against cow protection but was against targeting of Dalits and Muslims in name of Gau Raksha.
As members returned to their seats, Naqvi said violence in any form and in any State is condemnable and stated that Madhya Pradesh Government has already registered a case. He urged the Opposition to rise above politics on such sensitive issues so as not to disturb communal harmony and peace in the country.
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