Two women Congress MPs broke down while addressing a press conference on the ruckus that took place in the Parliament on August 11. Chhaya Verma and Phulo Devi Netam from INC Chhattisgarh levying several allegations against the government said that the male marshals made an attempt to strangulate them when the opposition had gathered in the well of the House to register their protest.
#WATCH | Raipur, Chhattisgarh: Congress Rajya Sabha MPs Chhaya Verma & Phulo Devi Netam break down while addressing the media on August 11 ruckus in the House pic.twitter.com/mHFp0MUrFq
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2021
The last few days of the monsoon session of the Parliament had witnessed a huge uproar with the opposition slinging mud at the government alleging that they called “outsiders” to beat and manhandle members of the opposition. Multiple incidents of physical violence, standing on tables, tearing and throwing documents were witnessed.
While the opposition was seen climbing on tables, hurling books at the Chair and getting into a scuffle, they claimed that it was the marshals that led an assault on especially the women MPs of opposition.
Both the Congress MPs had claimed that they sustained injuries after being attacked by male marshals. However, their claims are not supported by available footage of the violent scuffle that happened in Rajya Sabha on August 11. In the videos from the Rajya Sabha, both the MPs were seen dragging and manhandling a woman marshal.
#WATCH CCTV visuals of Opposition MPs jostling with marshals in Parliament yesterday pic.twitter.com/yfJsbCzrhl
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2021
“I have sustained injuries but cannot show,” claimed Verma. The two allegedly underwent treatment at a hospital in Delhi after sustaining injuries due to the scuffle.
Report on the violence in Rajya Sabha
The Director (Security) of Rajya Sabha had submitted a report regarding the violence that ensued in the House. The report as well as several CCTV clippings released by the government made it evident that it was in fact the opposition that led an attack on the Chair.
The report detailing the incident stated, “As soon as the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing, Hon’ble Members from opposition stormed into the well of the House to disturb the smooth functioning of the House and attempted to climb on the Table of the House and to tear the books/papers placed on it. As per the directions from the Chair and Standard Operating Procedures, officials of the Parliament Security Service had already positioned themselves around the Table of the House to prevent potential damage to the items placed on the Table and to protect Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha and other officials from the Secretariat from causing any hurt during the commotion.”
While some opposition MPs tore papers and flung them at the Chair, another MP in an attempt to breach the cordon, caught hold of a male marshal’s neck who was choked and left gasping for breath.
The female marshal assaulted by the two aforementioned Congress MPs had also filed a report narrating the incident. She informed that she sustained multiple abrasions, swellings and haematoma (left shoulder) and twisted left wrist as a result of the assault launched by the opposition MPs.
The female security officer Ms Akshita Bhat had submitted a report to the Director (Security), where she narrated when she tried to prevent the MPs from breaching the security cordon in their attempt to reach the Table of the House, two female Congress MPs Chhaya Verma and Phulo Devi Netam stepped aside and made way for male Members to aggressively breach the security cordon and reach the Table. The two female MPs physically and forcefully dragged her by pulling her arms in their attempt to help their male counterparts break the security cordon formed by the security officials, the female marshal’s report had mentioned.
