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Fernandes's remarks against Sonia
cause uproar

It was trouble from the word go when Fernandes rose to speak in an already surcharged atmosphere. He targeted the Congress for the riots in the past and blamed it for all that had gone wrong in the country in the past fifty years.

"The leader of opposition is provoking her members. She is also chewing gum," Fernandes said.

"The country has witnessed 15,000 riots and if the Centre and state governments had acted in time this would not have happened," he said.

"Stories are being told about Gujarat violence as if it was happening for the first time. Did it not happen in 1984 on the roads of Delhi?" he asked.

When Congress members said that the minister was not concentrating on the relevant topic, it drew protests from the Treasure benches.

At one point, Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Uma Bharti also hit out at Gandhi saying: "Her behaviour is not in keeping with the office of the leader of opposition. It is very childish behaviour and not in keeping with the traditions of the House. Someone should tell her that you do not chew gum in the House."

In the uproar, Samata Party member Prabhunath Singh made certain objectionable remarks against Gandhi and referred to a court case launched against her by Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy.

An agitated Congress protested against his remarks and when deputy leader of the party Shivraj Patil rose to speak, the Treasury benches created uproar.

When Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed failed to pacify the agitated members, he called a meeting of various leaders in his chamber.

Patil said whatever had been alleged against the Congress, which was irrelevant to the debate, should be expunged, as reference to other matters would make the debate infructuous.

Accusing the Congress of being responsible for unemployment, backwardness and neglect of Muslims, Fernandes alleged that the Congress governments prevented the minorities from getting important positions in public sector and elsewhere.

Terming the secularism advocated by the Congress as a sham, he said what was happening in Gujarat had been a common phenomenon for the last 54 years.

Charging the Congress with trying to prevent him from speaking in the House, Fernandes said he was determined to thwart such designs and even ready to stand till morning.

Dismissing charges that there was delay in army deployment in Gujarat, the defence minister said such a campaign was part of a move to demoralise the forces.

Though forces were not available in Ahmedabad and Baroda immediately, they were dispatched around the midnight of February 28 and deployed the next morning, he said.

PTI

The Sabarmati in Flames: Complete Coverage

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