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After Budget, Opposition Back To Attacking Smriti Irani In Parliament

The Parliament returned to same chaotic situation with opposition parties ready to target Education Minister Smriti Irani in both Houses over her claims on the death of Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula and the JNU row.

Alleging that she gave misleading statements in Parliament, two Congress leaders moved privilege motion against the minister in the Lok Sabha this morning. Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party took charge of moving the motion in the Rajya Sabha.

Rohith's mother has said the minister's statement that "nobody allowed a doctor near his body" was a set of "absolute lies."

Rohith's supporters and opposition parties assert that he was a victim of caste discrimination. His mother met CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and JD(U) leader KC Tyagi on Saturday.

The privilege motion against Irani in the Lok Sabha can be handled as BJP has a comfortable majority in the Lower House to defeat it but the real concern is in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority.

But sources in the BJP maintain that Irani did not lie. She is believed to have referred to a police report submitted in court, which strangely did not indicate the visit by a doctor.

The Left parties want a privilege motion moved against Irani for reading out provocative references to Goddess Durga from a pamphlet allegedly distributed at JNU.