Rahul Gandhi 'insulted' Northeast by not wearing 'Gamosa' at Rashtrapati Bhavan's At-Home: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): A political row erupted on Monday over Rahul Gandhi allegedly refusing to wear an Assamese 'Gamosa' given to all the guests at a reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, with the BJP alleging that the Congress leader insulted the country's Northeast.
The BJP also accused the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha of showing disregard for President Murmu by not wearing the 'Gamosa' while the Congress countered by pointing out that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also not worn the "patka (scarf)".
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma demanded an "unconditional apology" from Gandhi, alleging that it was deeply insensitive and insulting to the people of the entire Northeast with the Congress leader choosing not to wear the traditional patka, which is a symbol of the region's rich cultural heritage.
The development took place after a section of the media claimed that all guests except Gandhi wore the Gamosa presented to them at the event.
Citing certain media reports, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a post on X, "Shameful! Rahul Gandhi has insulted the north east and also disrespected our very hon'ble President."
Hitting out Gandhi, Sarma said that times may change, but the attitude of the "de facto supremo" of the Congress party "regrettably" appears unchanged.
"From the President and the Prime Minister to foreign dignitaries, everyone wore the Patka with respect and pride. Mr Gandhi alone stood apart, reinforcing a perception of disregard towards the North East," the Assam chief minister wrote on X.
Such a conduct explains why his party has "lost the trust of the region and much of the country. Yet, this repeated insensitivity continues", he charged.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi must issue an unconditional apology to the people of the North East for this affront. The people of the region deserve respect," he added.
The Congress hit back at the BJP with the party media and publicity department head Pawan Khera posting on X a picture of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, asking the Assam chief minister if he will demand an apology from Singh also for not wearing the patka.
"Hey @himantabiswa, will you seek an apology from @rajnathsingh ji too? Or your entire strategy to fight anti incumbency is to pick up such non issues?" Khera asked, tagging both Singh and Biswa in his post on the micro-blogging platform.
Congress MP Manickam also slammed the BJP over the issue and asked the Assam chief minister why Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not wear the Northeast patka.
"The 2016 batch of betrayer must stop this nonsense. Why is @rajnathsingh ji not wearing the North east patka then? Stop dragging the Hon'ble President @rashtrapatibhvn into your cheap politics," Tagore said in a post on X.
"The 2016 batch of betrayer must stop this nonsense. Why is @rajnathsingh ji not wearing the North east patka then? Stop dragging the Hon'ble President @rashtrapatibhvn into your cheap politics," Tagore said.
This comes on a day the Congress accused the NDA government of insulting the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge respectively, by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade event at Kartavya Path.
Sharing pictures of their leaders seated in the back rows during the ceremony, several Congress leaders raised questions over the "protocol mess-up" and propriety.
Hitting back, Poonawalla accused the Congress of putting "entitlement and ego" as well as "parivar and position" of Gandhi family above the people.
"They feel 'parivar tantra (family system)' is above 'sanvidhan tantra (constitutional system)'. Seating is decided by a set format -- Warrant or Table of Precedence. One can see even senior cabinet ministers around or even behind Rahul Gandhi but none of them made it an issue," the BJP spokesperson said in a post on X.
"Rahul thinks he is the owner of India? By the way, why does he bunk important programmes? Where was he during the VP Oath? CJI Oath? I-Day programme?" Poonawalla asked.
Reacting sharply, another BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress of politicising the seating arrangements at the Republic Day and called Gandhi an "insincere politician".
"Shameful of the Congress to politicise even seating arrangements at Republic Day'. Rahul Gandhi is an insincere politician, who chooses politics over national interest," Bhandari charged.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
