Now BJP versus Congress over Renuka’s ‘pressure on Army’, dog in Parliament

A day after Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury sparked a debate by bringing a rescued stray dog into Parliament, on Tuesday she was at the centre of another controversy when she claimed that senior Army officials were being pressured to publicly voice support for the central government.

According to Renuka, this was the first time military leaders had hinted at such coercion, calling it an “extremely alarming” sign.

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“The most frightening situation is that, for the first time, Army leaders are coming out and saying that they are being pressured to speak in support of the government,” she said, prompting an instantaneous and fierce response from the BJP, which accused her of making “deeply divisive” statements, which undermined neutrality and honour of the Armed Forces.

BJP MP Sambit Patra also slammed her and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for disrespecting Parliament’s dignity, calling it “unfortunate” that Congress leaders had, in his view, also insulted MPs and Parliament staff.

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi appeared to back Chowdhury when he made light of the dog-related controversy, saying “these are the things India is discussing these days.” When asked about the dog episode, he quipped, “The dog seems to be the main topic today. What did the poor animal do? Is it not allowed here?”

Gandhi’s remarks triggered another round of criticism from the BJP, which accused the Congress of trivialising Parliament’s sanctity.

Describing Parliament as the “highest temple of democracy,” where every individual — from MPs to sanitation staff — deserves respect, Patra noted that Chowdhury comments that her dog “doesn’t bite” but that “those who bite are inside running the government,” was a clear attempt to lower the dignity of the House.

He argued that Gandhi’s suggestion that dogs were “allowed inside” Parliament amounted to mocking his own party colleagues as well as the institution.

It was “painful” that the Congress had, in his view, become so desperate that its MPs were using disparaging language even about fellow members of Parliament, he said.

“A Congress MP is using such derogatory language for her own colleagues sitting inside Parliament. Even the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, initially expressed surprise that dogs are not allowed inside Parliament. Then he went further and pointed towards the House, asking mockingly were they not allowed inside.

“He is not disrespecting the government with this remark; he is insulting his own party members who are sitting inside Parliament,” he said.