As it happened: RS descends into chaos as Smriti Irani raises Mahishasura martyrdom day issue

Mahishasura martyrdom day issue now disrupts Rajya Sabha

“I am compelled to read a few things,” said Smriti Irani.

“There is an accusation that Mehmood ki topi Ahmed par hai. Pata nahi kiski topi kiske sar pe hai…main bina topi ke hoon,” she said.

Irani then quoted a JNU document which, according to Irani’s speech, said that “the execution of Afzal Guru was a nervous attempt by Congress.”

“And it (the JNU document) also speaks about a public meeting that they have the right to hold a festival called Mahishasura martyrdom day,” she said.

Irani then said that some minority students who were protesting against this festival were beaten up by Left-leaning JNU students.

“What is Mahishasura martyrdom day?” Irani said. She then again quoted the document.

“The document said that Durga Puja is a controversial, racist festival where a fair-skinned goddess is depicted killing a dark demon,” Irani said.

She also said that document described Durga as a “sex worker called Durga who enticed Mahishasur into marriage. Every year, thousand of Durga puja pandals are erected showing her in a bad light, in a sexual position.”

As soon as Irani finished reading this out, a huge uproar erupted in the Parliament.

“What is happening here? It is highly objectionable!” thundered Anand Sharma. “Tomorrow, if any of the ministers bring in any derogatory reference, what are we reducing this House to?”

Irani counters charge of saffronisation of education

“There are many who have said that history is being distorted and all Sanghis are being put in ICHR,” said Smriti Irani. She then pointed out that there was a member of ICHR who was not, in fact, a Sanghi. “If there was an intention to saffronise education, why would I pick a scholar who is not aligned to my organisation?” she said.

Uproar erupts in Rajya Sabha in the middle of Smriti Irani’s speech

Opposition members began shouting as Smriti Irani tried responding to the allegations made against her.

“What are we as a united House telling this generation of ours?” Irani said.

“Do we say to them that if you are a Dalit child belonging to an ideology not favourable to us, you can die for all we care?” she said.

Sitharam Yechury lashed out in the House and asked Smriti Irani to focus on the point at hand.

Many can be accused of identifying Rohith as a vote bank: Smriti Irani

“I have been told not to get agitated,” said Smriti Irani as she began her speech by quoting lines from Macbeth.

“I publicly pay homage to him. What I never publicly disclose that I also spoke to his mother,” said Irani. “There are many who can be accused of identifying him as a vote bank,” she said.

We are undeterred by these attempts: Naidu

“Instead of running for photo opportunities, the political leadership should ponder over why incidents like the Rohith Vemula suicide happened. The entire country should think seriously. This is not the first case,” Venkaiah Naidu said.

“The Prime Minister is very clear. The country has to go forward. We are undeterred by these attempts,” Naidu said, as he targeted the Opposition over its criticism of the government.

Don’t express solidarity with divisive forces: Naidu

“We are only requesting you not to express solidarity with divisive forces,” said Naidu.

Some people are eulogising Yakub Memon: Naidu in Lok Sabha

“In the Yakub Memon case, Supreme Court held a session in the middle of the night. Some people are eulogising Yakub Memon,” Venkaiah Naidu said.

Venkaiah Naidu takes a dig at Chidambaram over his remark on Afzal Guru

“A former Finance Minister has said that perhaps there are doubts about Afzal Guru’s involvement in the Parliament attack,” Naidu said. “Nobody has the right to say this after the Supreme Court verdict.”

Lakhs of student leaders were put behind bars in your(Cong) regime under MISA, and you are telling us about dissent?-Venkaiah Naidu in LS

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2016

Nobody has fought against the ultra Left like we have: Yechury

Before he was told by the Deputy Chairman to sit down, Sitharam Yechury said, “Nobody has fought against the ultra Left like we have.”

Don’t camouflage this issue: Jaitley

“I would only urge this: The accused have been arrested. The investigations are on. The Home Minister has said the police will be more than fair. Please don’t camouflage the offence which has taken place,” said Jaitley.

“You should be more vigorous in speaking against terror than we are,” the Finance Minister also told the Congress.

Congress lost two PMs to terrorism; they should condemn this more strictly than we are: Arun Jaitley #JNU

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2016

Purpose of this debate is not to point fingers at each other: Anand Sharma to Jaitley

An angry Anand Sharma, in response to Jaitley accusing Opposition parties of supporting ‘anti-nationals’, said, “The purpose of this debate is not to deepen the fissures and point fingers at each other. Let’s not distort the facts…Was the JNU faculty responsible for the anti-national slogans?”

Should the police have remained a mute spectator while anti-national slogans were raised? asks Jaitley

“Without thinking, don’t give respectability to those who talk about breaking the nation,” said Jaitley. “Should the police remain a mute spectator if anti-national slogans are raised in the heart of India?” he added.

“I think the JNU is an integral part of India. And therefore, the Indian law applies. And if the Indian Penal Code is violated, the police has the right to enter the university,” Jaitley said.

“The tragedy is not only that anti-national slogans were raised. It’s also a tragedy that national parties were supporting those people,” he said.

‘Vandalism is condemnable but sedition is free speech?’

“Of course, what happened in Patiala House is condemnable. But vandalism is condemnable. And sedition is free speech?” said Jaitley.

“Vandalism is condemnable. But here’s what the leftist philosophy is in this case: ‘Let us concentrate on vandalism, which is condemnable. But at the same time, sedition must become a part of free speech.’ Can hate speech become free speech?” he said.

“The question is: Does the Indian constitutional order allow this? To say that this kind of act must be ignored by the state is wrong. It is an issue over the geography and territory of India which is under attack today,” he said.

No academic freedom will ever be in peril in this country: Jaitley

“The pamphlet (at JNU) is more against the government which the UPA led. It said: ‘Kashmir did not belong to Nehru. Nor does it belong to Manmohan or Modi.’ All of the accused belong to an ultra-Left philosophy. I won’t say anything against the accused because it might prejudice the trial against them,” said the Finance Minister.

“Some other people came with masks. Maoists and separatists came to the event. And these people said, ‘Kashmir ki azaadi tak, Bharat ki barbaadi tak jang chalegi jang chalegi.’ What was the police supposed to do?” he said.

Pamphlet at JNU event was titled ‘a country without a post office’: Jaitley

“Our fairness of the system was that not only did the accused (Afzal Guru) get a fair trial, but he also got several rounds of petitions with the Supreme Court. The system went out of the way to accommodate a person aganst whom there was a grave charge,” Jaitley said.

“Can anyone say that his martyrdom should be celebrated? Let us be clear about the kind of functions that were organised in Hyderabad and JNU,” he said. “The Congress has had a history of never supporting the fringe. Here is a group of people who call for this cultural programme on 9 February. The pamphlet was titled ‘A country without a post office’…The pamphlet said the ‘judicial killing’ of Afzal Guru,” he said.

‘Are we going to give respectability to those whose primary ideology is that they’re going to break this country?’

“If some student belonging to a weaker section of society suffers mental distress, that issue has to be discussed,” said Jaitley. “The core issue does not relate to the amount of academic license that exists,” he said.

“Youngsters do many things and when they grow up, they realise they shouldn’t have done many of those things,” said the Finance Minister.

“Some amount of radical romancing can also take place in institutions,” he said.

“But are we going to give respectability to those whose primary ideology is that they’re going to break this country?” he said.

We are missing or side-tracking the real issue: Jaitley

“Should we have universities where there is openness and freedom? Can there ever be an argument in a democracy like ours that there should be only one ideology?” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, in response to Ghulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha.

“Let us settle this debate. Neither the NDA nor the UPA says only one idea must grow,” Jaitley said. “We are entitled to be criticised. I have no difficulty with that,” he added.

They were supporting a terrorist at that university: Najma Heptulla

“This temple of democracy exists today because soldiers have given their lives for their nation,” said Najma Heptulla, in response to Ghulam Nabi Azad’s speech. “At that university (JNU), they were supporting a terrorist,” she said.

‘Deal with those who actually made anti-national slogans in a different way’

“What is happening today is like a war. We are telling people some of them are more nationalist than others,” Ghulam Nabi Azad said. “Deal with those who actually made anti-national slogans in a way different from those who did not make any anti-national slogans,” he added.

“In the Patiala House court complex attack, the government was trying to save the BJP MLA,” he further said. He also called for a House committee to probe this issue.

Take action against those behind doctored videos: Ghulam Nabi Azad

“Action should be taken against those people behind the doctored videos who are trying to break the nation. Those are the people against whom a sedition case should be filed,” Azad said. “And the media was encouraged by the ruling party to make these videos,” he added.

Azad also mentioned the journalist who resigned from Zee News over this issue.

Let there be a debate on nationalism, thunders Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament

“These institutions (like JNU) were made by organisations under Jawaharlal Nehru. And you are trying to ruin these institutions,” said Azad.

We don’t have HRD Ministry’s energy: Ghulam Nabi Azad

“We are explaining everything to you with a lot of love. Please don’t react,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad as the BJP MPs in the House began getting restless after his speech. “After all, we don’t have the kind of energy which the HRD Ministry has,” he added, after which even Smriti Irani erupted in laughter.

‘Why has ABVP come on the centre stage in Delhi?’

“The ruling party is making an issue out out of who is an anti-national and who is not. I want to tell them, ‘Sheeshe ke mehel mein rehne waale doosron par pathar nahi pheka karte’ (Those who live in glass palaces should not throw stones at others),” said Ghulam Nabi Azad.

(Updates begin for 25 February)

Ghulam Nabi Azad criticises Smriti Irani over Rohith Vemula suicide issue in Rajya Sabha

“You can imagine how much the boy was harassed…He was called an anti-national and thrown out of college,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi said as he criticised HRD Minister Smriti Irani over the Rohith Vemula suicide issue.

Our govt believes JNU is a centre of excellence: Rajnath Singh

“Our government believes that JNU is a centre of excellence, not centre of ati-national activities,” says Home Minister Rajnath Singh. 

“Under no circumstances police would be allowed harass any inncocent students. Regarding the incidents in the Patiala House Court the police has already upon it and I assure the House the guilty will given exemplary punishment,” Singh said.

Wish Rahul Gandhi helped me to tackle tensions in JNU, says Irani

“If we make education a battleground, if we make children vote banks then the country would be in the path of self-destruction. Had Rahul Gandhi requested me to accompany him to JNU and jointly appealed to the students to remember what nationalism is I would have happily gone. But he did not do that. My request is help me build this not destroy it from within,” says Irani while concluding her speech.

I am looking at this class 4 book by Teesta Setalvad, commissioned by Kapil Sibal during UPA,see what all is written-Smriti Irani in LS

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2016

I have said it time and again that 'shiksha ko ranbhoomi mat banao'-Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2016

JNU executive council not appointed by NDA, says Irani

“Executive council that ousted Rohith Vemula was appointed by UPA, not NDA," Smriti Irani tells Lok Sabha.

“I look at the poster of Rohith Vemula and think that he never knew that he was used,” Irani says. 

She refers to a post on Mahisasur Martyrdom Day. It refers to Goddess Durga as “sex worker” who tricked Mahisasur, a dark skinned man and killed him later. 

“Is this freedom of speech? I want to know if Rahul Gandhi, Saugata Roy or Saugata Bose would like to discuss this freedom of speech. I fail to understand the depravity of these so-called students,” the minister said pointing to the empty Congress benches as the largest party has staged a walkout.

In his statement, Rohith Vemula said no one was responsible for his death: HRD Minister Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/DsfGAaTdVp

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2016

An angry Smriti Irani rises to speak; is she trying to fight off tears?

“I am disturbed by the fact some people are questioning my integrity as a minister. I have solved thousands of issues that have come to me in my capacity as a minister,” says a rather fiery looking Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha. 

She challenges Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao as to why he asked on what authority she wrote to the Hyderabad Central University. Irani shows all the letters that Rao as a MP addressed to the minister seeking her intervention in the HCU.

Uneasy prevails in the Opposition benches as the minister flashes letter after letter written by the parliamentarians seeking her intervention on different matters. From Kerala CM Oommen Chandy to former HRD minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor she spares none. 

“Today you are accusing me of biasness. Had I wanted to use the ocassion to put counter allegations I would have done that in the press conference I did the other day,” Irani tells Lok Sabha. 

“Meri naam Smriti Irani hain. Meri jaati kya hain bataon,” says a teary Irani in Lok Sabha. 

Allegations and counter-allegations fly between TRS MPs and the Union HRD minister.

“No doctor was permitted to go near Rohith Vemula. No attempt was made to revive the child. Even the police was allowed next morning. If the vertebrate does not break and even if the pulse falls down to 30 or 40 he can be revived. Who declared him dead?” says Irani.

“I am not certifying your idea of India. But do not demean mine,” the minister says.

Point to ponder!

“Haathi ke daant khane ki aur, dikhane ki aur. Very well said by my friend Jyotiraditya Scindia. But I am confused if he was referring to the UPA or NDA?” says Anupriya Patel from Apna Dal.

Where was your patriotism when PDP termed Afzal’s hanging as travesty of justice? asks Asaduddin Owaisi 

“Where were you when the present Punjab CM burned down the Indian Constitution? Where were you when the PDP with whom you are partners in J&K said that the hanging of Afzal Guru was travesty of justice? Where was your patritism then? Whatever is happening in JNU is wrong. Had (Union Minister) Bandaru Dattatreya did not write that letter, had HRD Minister Smriti Irani not ordered action Rohith Vemula would have been alive,” says All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi.