6 suspended Congress MLAs spend night at Rajasthan Assembly after row over 'Dadi' remark

Congress MLAs stormed into the Well of the House amid uproar over 'apki dadi' remark.

High drama ensued on Thursday and six Opposition MLAs spent the night in the Rajasthan Assembly after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister took a swipe at Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as "aapki dadi" (your grandmother).

This led to sloganeering and Congress MLAs trooping into the Well of House during the Session. Six Congress MLAs, including state party chief Govind Singh Dotasra, were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session and the Assembly was adjourned thrice.

In protest, the suspended MLAs decided to spend the night in the Well of the House and arrangements were made for their bedding and dinner, according to a report by NDTV.

#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan: Congress MLAs continue to protest inside the Rajasthan Assembly over the suspension of six Congress MLAs for the remainder of the ongoing Budget SessionSix Congress MLAs, including state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, were suspended over pic.twitter.com/QzniX6MgML

ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) February 21, 2025

The row erupted when Rajasthan Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot pointed to the members of the opposition and said, “In the 2023-24 budget also, like always, you named the scheme after your ‘dadi'".

Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully objected to the minister’s statement and asked whether he was referring to former PM Indira Gandhi while demanding that the statement be struck from the record.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel insisted that there was nothing unparliamentary about the word ‘dadi’ while government chief whip Jogeshwar Garg said the opposition had crossed limits.

“The speed and intention with which they moved towards the chair and the incident of reaching close to the Speaker is definitely condemnable and not a pardonable crime. Therefore, I request that as a result of the indecent and condemnable conduct of the opposition members in the House, the following members should be suspended for the remaining period of the current budget session… Govind Singh Dotasara, Ramkesh Meena, Amin Kagzi, Jakir Hussain, Hakim Ali and Sanjay Kumar," he said, as per news agency PTI.

The proposal was passed by a voice vote and Speaker Vasudev Devnani adjourned the house until Monday, after which Congress MLAs began a protest in the well of the Assembly.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Tika Ram Jully said the minister had made “indecent" comments. He said, “Minister Shri Avinash Gehlot made indecent comments about respected leader Indira Gandhi ji, who sacrificed her life for the country, but our MLAs were suspended. This shows that the BJP only wants to work with a dictatorial attitude. Not allowing the Leader of Opposition to deliver his speech on the Governor’s address and now suspending 6 MLAs, including the state (Congress) president, is the result of the BJP’s thinking of suppressing the voice of the Opposition."