NEW DELHI: Congress Lok Sabha member Ramya Haridas on Monday lodged a written complaint with Speaker Om Birla , saying that she had been “physically assaulted” inside the House by BJP’s Jaskaur Meena , a woman MP from Rajasthan and demanded that action be taken against the member.

“On March 2, at 3 pm, inside Lok Sabha, I was physically assaulted by MP Jaskaur Meena,” Haridas said in her complaint and added, “Is this repeatedly happened to me just because I am Dalit and woman? I request you to take action against the said MP,” an upset Haridas wrote in her complaint as the young first-time member kept weeping while she spoke to the Speaker in his chamber.

When she rushed to the Speaker’s chamber, other opposition party members, mostly women from Congress and Trinamool Congress, DMK and others who were also present in the House accompanied her.

A sobbing Haridas is learnt to have told the Speaker that she felt “hurt” about the assault as she is also a member of the House and does not deserve such behaviour.

Many of the senior women MPs in the opposition benches were found comforting Haridas afterwards, as the House remained adjourned.

Meanwhile, Union minister and BJP MP Smriti Irani was seen organizing the BJP women members of the House and writing out a complaint and getting it signed to counter the one made by Haridas. Afterwards, led by Irani, all BJP women MPs except Sadhvi Pragya, present in the House including Meena trooped out of the House and returned after a while.

Accusing Congress members of misbehaving with BJP women MPs, Irani on Monday alleged that behaviour of the opposition party members was a reflection of the Gandhi family’s desperation as Meena lodged a complaint with Birla in this regard soon after Haridas had filed hers.

“Congress MPs misbehaved with BJP women MPs in Lok Sabha. I would appeal to the Speaker to take the strongest possible action against them,” Irani later told reporters outside Parliament House.

