Suspended Cong leaders camp out in Rajasthan Assembly over 'dadi' remark

Congress MLAs staged an overnight protest in Rajasthan Assembly after six leaders were suspended over uproar against a BJP minister's remark on Indira Gandhi

Congress leaders staged an overnight sit-in inside the Rajasthan Assembly in protest against the suspension of six party MLAs following a heated debate in the House on Friday.  

 

The suspended legislators — Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Deputy Leader of Opposition Ramkesh Meena, Amin Kagzi, Zakir Hussain Gesawat, Hakeem Ali Khan, and Sanjay Kumar Jatav — were seen resting on a bedding inside the Assembly hall.   

आज रात्रि, विधानसभा में ! जनहित की बुलंद आवाज़!  आपकी आवाज़ को दबाने की किसी भी कोशिश को नाकाम करेंगे, हर मुद्दे पर मजबूती से खड़े रहेंगे!#RajasthanVidhanSabha #जनताकीआवाज pic.twitter.com/2XVcYOvZJQ

— Zakir Hussain Gesawat - MLA???????? (@ZakirHussainINC) February 21, 2025

Their suspension was prompted by a protest over BJP minister Avinash Gehlot’s remark referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as “aapki dadi” (your grandmother).  

 

 

Uproar over minister’s remark

 

The Assembly descended into chaos after Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, made the comment while responding to a query about hostels for working women. During the Question Hour, he said, "In the 2023-24 Budget also, like always, you named the scheme (on working women's hostels) after your ‘dadi’ (grandmother) Indira Gandhi."

 

Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully strongly objected to the phrasing and urged that the term be removed from the records. This led to protests by Congress MLAs, who moved towards the Well of the House, raising slogans.  

 

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel defended the remark, asserting that there was nothing unparliamentary about the word "dadi".  

 

House adjournments and suspensions  

 

The uproar led to multiple adjournments — first for half an hour, then until 2 pm, and again until 4 pm. When the session resumed, government chief whip Jogeshwar Garg criticised the Opposition’s conduct.  

 

“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," PTI quoted him as saying.  

 

Reacting to the suspensions, Jully accused the ruling party of trying to silence the opposition. "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," he wrote on X.  

 

Congress condemns action, announces protests  

 

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, of attempting to conceal its failures.  

 

"First, a minister of the BJP government made an indecent comment on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then suspended the Congress MLAs from the House who protested against not apologising for it. This shows that the method in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is being adopted in the Rajasthan Assembly as well. Just like MPs are suspended there to hide their failures, the same has been done here," he stated in a post on X.  

 

He further questioned the motive behind the suspensions, saying, "The government had no work to show in the last one year, so the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to give a speech highlighting its failures during the address. Now our state president and MLAs from Dalit, backward, tribal, and minority communities have been suspended from the Budget session. Is this not an attempt to divert attention from the discussion on the Budget?"

 

In response to the developments, Congress has announced a statewide protest on Saturday.  

 

(With agency inputs)