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When Dasmunsi turned the tables on Opposition

Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI: It all began with an attempt by Opposition members to nail the Congress’ first family for ignoring the established security drill during Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Orissa, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi turned the tables on them in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

For a good half-hour, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Braja Kishore Tripathi sought to impress on the House that the federal structure in law and order was upset when Mr. Gandhi made unscheduled visits to ‘naxalite’ areas without informing the local police.

While the Congress members did not protest at first, Mr. Tripathi’s statement that some members were more equal than others had the ruling party MPs on their feet. His submission that he was speaking out of concern for the safety of Mr. Gandhi cut no ice with the Congress members.

During this exchange, Mr. Gandhi entered the House and sat watching the action. His mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi too looked on.

Congress links

Asked by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to respond to Mr. Tripathi’s remark, Mr. Dasmunsi thanked the BJD members for their concern for the young MP and said it was only natural for them to feel this way. After all, he pointed out, many of the BJD members had Congress links. In particular, he named B. Mahatab, whose father Harekrushna Mahatab was a Congress Chief Minister of Orissa, and Arjun Charan Sethi, who was once with the party.

Stating that the issue raised by the BJD members was one which had to be resolved between the Central and State governments, Mr. Dasmunsi asked them to always remain concerned about the welfare of “this young leader.”

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