BJP LEADS PROTEST IN PARLIAMENT

The first week of Parliament’s Monsoon Session was a complete washout as the Opposition remained unrelenting over its demand for Union minister Sushma Swaraj’s resignation and the government continued rejecting it. As part of the government’s counter-offensive the BJP-led NDA on Friday staged a protest within the Parliament premises demanding action against chief ministers of two Congress-ruled states, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

New Delhi, July 24: After AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon met this fate because of his religion, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj kicked off another row saying those who do not respect judiciary can go to Pakistan.

The BJP also accused Mr Owaisi of doing “communal politics” over terrorism and said that nothing can be “uglier” than this.

Triggering a controversy, Mr Owaisi questioned the capital punishment awarded to Yakub, the lone convict in the Mumbai blasts case ordered to be sent to the gallows.

He sought to know whether the perpetrators of demolition of disputed structure in Ayodhya, communal riots of Mumbai and Gujarat and other such sinister cases would get a similar punishment.

“Why have not perpetrators of demolition of Babri Masjid been convicted and will they also be given capital punishment as that is the original sin?” the Hyderabad MP asked.

Alleging that the recommendations of Sri Krishna Commission have been put in cold storage both by the BJPShiv Sena and CongressNCP governments in Maharashtra, he wondered how many have been convicted in the Mumbai riots of December, 1992 and January, 1993.

“1,000 people killed in communal riots of December, 1992 and January, 1993. How many are convicted?” he asked.