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Ruckus in RS as Oppn loses 'gau rakshak' plot

The House had to be adjourned and could get back to business only after Agarwal not only retracted his statement but also expressed regret, saying it was not his intention to hurt anybody's sentiments.

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Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday
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The Rajya Sabha witnessed uproarious scenes on Wednesday even as the Opposition, which initially tried to corner the government over cases of cow vigilantism and lynching, lost the plot when Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agarwal made controversial comments on Hindu gods.

The comments were expunged from the records by deputy chairman PJ Kurien after vociferous protests from the BJP that sought an unconditional apology from Agarwal.

The House had to be adjourned and could get back to business only after Agarwal not only retracted his statement but also expressed regret, saying it was not his intention to hurt anybody's sentiments.

Finding the matter sensitive, Kurien instructed the media not to report the expunged part. Agarwal was speaking during a debate on cases of lynching and atrocities against minorities and Dalits.

"He has linked each of the Hindu Gods with a brand of alcohol. If he would have made this statement outside Parliament, he would've been booked," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

"Do you have the audacity of repeating this in relation to any other religious denomination? Would you do this?" he asked, demanding an apology.

Earlier, leader of the opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that people linked to the BJP and the RSS were behind recent mob lynchings by cow vigilantes, a charge firmly rejected by Minister of State for Home affairs Hansraj Ahir and Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

During the debate, the Opposition parties demanded the government to bring a strong law against mob lynchings.

The Opposition's retort came in reply to Ahir's submission during question hour that the government was not mulling a separate law to tackle mob lynching cases.

"The state governments can take action against persons involved in such incidents under existing laws. I don't think there is a need for a separate law," Ahir said, responding to a supplementary question by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who asked if the central government was planning to modify the CrPC and the IPC to deal with mob lynchings in the name of cow protection.

Ahir's said that the law and order was a state subject and Home Minister Rajnath Singh has already issued an advisory to all states to take prompt action in cases of cow vigilantism and nab the culprits. This led to noisy protests by the Opposition during question hour.

Pandemonium again prevailed in the House, when Azad alleged that members of the BJP and the RSS were involved in violence in the name of cow protection.

"The Opposition thinks the government is hand in gloves with these miscreants. The government has said that the perpetrators can do whatever they want and the government will give statements. If there is no understanding, how is it that no one gets caught? This is just political harvesting," Azad said.

Responding to Azad, Naqvi urged the Opposition to refrain from giving "religious colour to such incidents."

"Do the miscreants carry a board signifying that they are gau rakshaks? If you do this, it helps the miscreants," said Naqvi. Countering Azad's claim that no action was taken against the miscreants, Naqvi said, "Arrests have been made in Alwar and Ballabgarh."

Naqvi alleged the Opposition is targeting the government as it has not been able to find fault with its development agenda. "The intention on our part is very clear. We will not let the agenda of development be dominated by any destructive agenda".

Opposition parties have demanded that either Prime Minster Narendra Modi or Leader of the House Arun Jaitley respond to the debate that will continue on Thursday

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