Rahul tutored by NGOs that good days will come for Cong; he is not interested in running Par: Rijiju
Tawang (PTI): Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is not interested in the smooth functioning of Parliament, and some NGOs have tutored him that "good days" will come for his party and that is why he has been stalling the House.
Rijiju also said that the government is not going to take any more extra steps to "placate" the Congress to defuse the situation in Parliament as he had made "many attempts" so that the House functions properly, but in vain.
"Rahul Gandhi is not interested in running the House. He is interested in making issues. Rahul Gandhi was tutored by some NGOs that your days will come. But their days won't come. In the next elections, their tally (in the Lok Sabha) will further go down," he told PTI in an interview here.
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Rijiju, who is on a visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Arunachal West, said the ruling alliance has no problem with the opposition stalling the House as he had made many attempts to defuse the situation, including speaking to senior Congress leader K C Venugopal and a few others.
"We are not going to do anything extra to placate the Congress. The Congress is frustrated because the party is losing election after election. They are desperate to change the situation," he said.
The Union minister claimed there was pressure on the Congress from the smaller parties in Parliament to not stall the House because they lose out their time to speak.
"All opposition is not with the Congress. Smaller parties are not being able to utilise their respective party time. Smaller parties are unhappy with Rahul Gandhi. Some of them have not even signed the motion against the Speaker," he said.
Rijiju said some members of other political parties kept telling him that they wanted the House to function.
Most days of the first part of the Budget Session in the Lok Sabha witnessed disruptions and adjournments after Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting an article based on excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane's "unpublished memoir", which has references to the India-China conflict of 2020.
Eight opposition members were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session for unruly behaviour in the House.
The opposition also moved a No-confidence Motion against Speaker Om Birla for his removal from office, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner.
The Speaker last week decided to step aside from his role as the presiding officer of the House, hours after the opposition submitted the motion for his removal from office, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner.
The Budget Session, which started with the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament, on January 28 and went on recess on February 12. The Budget 2026 was presented on February 1. The session will be reconvened on March 9 and will end on April 2.
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Hubballi: Gym trainer assaulted; police say clash due to personal reasons
Hubballi: A gym trainer was allegedly assaulted by a group of people following accusations of sexual assault and ‘love jihad’, even as both families involved in the case traded serious allegations.
According to police, a group of individuals went to the residence of Sameer Mulla, a resident of Vijayanagar, and questioned him over his friendship with a woman he had met at a gym. The situation escalated into a clash, during which he was allegedly dragged away and assaulted. He sustained minor injuries and was admitted to KIMS hospital.
N. Shashikumar said that after this incident, members from Sameer’s side went to the woman’s house, leading to another clash in which one person was injured. “It was wrong for groups to go near houses. We will take necessary legal action,” he said, adding that the incident appears to have arisen from personal reasons. Police have taken some individuals into custody and are investigating the matter.
Sameer Mulla was reportedly thrashed by a group of Sangh Parivar activists and later handed over to police at the Old Hubballi Police Station after relatives of the woman and members of Hindu organisations gathered at his residence in Rajnagar.
The woman’s family alleged assault and threats from Sameer’s relatives at their Vikas Nagar residence.
Meanwhile, Sameer’s family denied the allegations and accused the woman’s relatives and others of assaulting and kidnapping him. His sister said the two had been in a relationship for three years and that the allegations were baseless.
Police said statements from both sides have been recorded, and a detailed investigation is underway. Sameer remains hospitalised, and appropriate legal action will be taken based on findings.
In a video statement shared on social media, the 20-year-old woman alleged that Sameer had given her an intoxicant, recorded videos without her consent, and sexually assaulted her. She lodged a complaint alleging rape and blackmail, which police are investigating.
In another video, Sameer denied the allegations, claiming the video was recorded with consent and that the accusations were made under pressure.
Former Hubballi-Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) chairman Nagesh Kalburgi termed the incident a serious matter and urged police to take strict action.
Police said the case involves multiple complaints from both sides, and further investigation is underway.
