New Delhi: el Lok Sabha On Tuesday he witnessed heated protests from the members of Congress after a comment from the deputy of BJP Sambit Patra About opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
During a debate on the complementary demands of subsidies, excess subsidies and Manipur’s budget, Patra made a comparison between Cricket Rohit Sharma and Gandhi captain, citing a comment made by the leader of the Shama Mohamed Congress about Sharma’s aptitude. The comment caused strong objections of the parliamentarians of the Congress, PTI news agency reported.
By chairing the session, Sandhya Rai said the comments would be eliminated, but the protests continued. President Om Birla later intervened, urging the members of the Treasury and the opposition to defend the dignity of the Chamber. As the members of Congress remained firm, birla briefly postponed the procedures for 10 minutes.
When the Chamber met, Birla rebuked the members of the opposition to challenge the president’s authority. Patra then declared that if his words had injured Gandhi or any other member, he had no objection to withdraw them.
The leader of Congress, KC Venufopal, raised concerns about inconsistencies in moderation of personal attacks, suggesting that the speaker Birla acts against such comments when they preside, but other chairs do not. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, condemned the attacks on the members and the President, emphasizing the need for a constructive debate.
Birla reiterated that parliamentary discussions should focus on policies instead of personal comments, citing past cases in which he had eliminated comments about the president and prime minister.