The Parliament premises witnessed unruly scenes on Thursday, the penultimate day of the Winter Session, as MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc engaged in a faceoff on the issue of "dishonouring Dr BR Ambedkar".
While the Opposition parties continued their protest over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar, the BJP on Thursday launched a protest of its own claiming that the Congress party "insulted" Ambedkar and failed to honour his legacy.
At some point during these counter protests, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attempted to enter the Parliament building from the Makar Dwar, the same place that the NDA MPs were holding their protest, resulting in an altercation that allegedly left two MPs of the BJP injured.
The two injured MPS include Pratap Chandra Sarangi from Balasore, Odisha, and Mukesh Rajput from Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh. Both MPs sustained injuries during a scuffle involving Rahul Gandhi and have been admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.
"MP Pratap Sarangi was brought to the hospital, with a deep cut on his head, and till the time of arrival at the hospital, had lost a lot of blood. Doctors have stitched the cut for him. Meanwhile, MP Mukesh Rajput, was brought with some head injury and high blood pressure," an RML spokesperson said, adding that both MPs are currently in the ICU and doctors are providing treatment to stabilise them.
Who is Pratap Chandra Sarangi?
A BJP leader, the 69-year-old Balasore MP traces his political beginnings to his early days as a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and as a worker of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.
Having attained his bachelor's degree from Fakir Mohan College, Balasore, under Utkal University, in 1975, he was driven by a strong spiritual inclination that even saw his consider becoming a monk of the Ramakrishna Math.
Prior to entering politics, Sarangi worked as a Head Clerk at Nilgiri College, Nilgiri, Balasore, Odisha. He went on to be elected as a Member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly twice, from 2004 to 2009 and from 2009 to 2014, both times from the Nilagiri constituency.
He also contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Balasore, Lok Sabha constituency, but lost. However, he won in 2019 from the same constituency, defeating the Biju Janata Dal candidate and sitting MP, Rabindra Kumar Jena, by a margin of 12,956 votes.
In May 2019, Sarangi was appointed as the Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries.
However, Sarangi has also been embroiled in controversies, including his alleged involvement in a case of murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines in 1999.
As per his affidavit, filed with the Election Commission of India ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sarangi has assets worth around Rs 5,00,000 and some nine cases still pending against him.
Who is Mukesh Rajput?
Mukesh Rajput, the second MP injured and hospitalised after the scuffle in Parliament, is a prominent BJP leader and currently serves as an MP from the Farrukhabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
The 55-year-old holds a Bachelor of Science degree from RP Degree College, Kamalganj Janpad Farrukhabad, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University, which he completed in 1990.
As per his self-sworn affidavit submitted at the time of filing his nomination for the general elections this year, Mukesh Rajput's assets are valued at approximately Rs 9.36 crore.
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