LS, RS adjourned over Tarun Vijay’s remarks

The Congress, accompanied by other parties, forced multiple adjournments in both the Houses of Parliament over senior BJP leader and former MP Tarun Vijay calling south Indian people “black” in a television interview. Vijay had made the comment while denying charges of “racism” being the reason behind the attack on some Nigerian students in a Delhi neighbourhood some days ago.

Raising the issue, Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that the controversial remark had not come from an ordinary member of the BJP but from a former Rajya Sabha member who has been the editor of (RSS journal) Panchjanya and writes columns in 22 newspapers.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar assured the House that there was no question of any discrimination based on caste, creed or colour, as implied by Kharge when he pointedly asked: “Are we south Indians not Indian citizens?”

Kharge, who hails from Karnataka, asserted that the remark reflects the mindset and ideology of the BJP and claimed “you want to divide us” and “want the southern states to assert for independence”. “After humiliating and insulting us, just a ‘sorry’ from him won’t work,” he said.

Cong points finger at CBI

In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress members trooped into the well, alleging deliberate hounding of non-BJP Chief Ministers by the central enforcement agencies — CBI and ED — forcing three adjournments.