Nero, Rome, Mussolini, Hedgewar… These names reverberated through the hallowed precincts of Indian Parliament Wednesday as Lok Sabha took up the discussion on “recent law and order situation in some parts of Delhi.”
While Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah describing riots as a “defeat of humanity,” the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Meenakshi Lekhi hit back with a reply which made instant headlines.
As many as 53 people were killed in Delhi violence.
“Government, especially Home Minister Amit Shah, has to answer how violence continued for three days in Delhi. What was Amit Shah doing when Delhi was burning? Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned, as Modi was hosting US President Donald Trump in Ahmedabad,” said Chowdhury
Responding to the Congress MP’s allegations, Lekhi said, “Some people have history of setting things ablaze. I have data which shows who was responsible whenever violence incidents took place in country.”
She also defended Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Kapil Mishra who were being accused of inciting violence by the Opposition. “Anurag and Verma made comments on January 20 and January 28, respectively, while the violence started on February 23. Kapil Mishra was held responsible for acts of Amanatullah Khan, Sharjeel Imam and Tahir Hussain,” said Lekhi.
“If you are going to allege that Mussolini was Hedgewar’s inspiration, then let me remind you, the maternal grandfather of the person sitting behind you worked in Mussolini’s army,” she added..
