INDIA:-Narendra Modi’s remarks against predecessor Manmohan Singh, the Congress
warned on Wednesday that it will not let the Prime Minister speak in Parliament
unless he apologises for his “unacceptable” comment. Congress members in the
Rajya Sabha staged a walkout soon after Modi accused Singh of “allowing
corruption under his nose but at the same time managing to steer clear” of any
charges. The Prime Minister was replying to a debate on the motion of thanks on
the President’s address.
Even
though many scams took place in the country (in the previous UPA regime),
Singh’s image remained clean, Modi said, taking a dig at the former PM. “People
should learn from Dr. Singh how to bathe in bathroom wearing a raincoat.”
“How
can you have a dialogue with the opposition with this kind of language used
against us… You can’t get personal in a debate,” senior Congress leader Kapil
Sibal later told reporters in the Parliament House complex. “We too could get
personal and start talking about things where the Prime Minister’s name has
occurred but we never did that.” While Singh did not respond to the Prime
Minister’s statement, the Congress fielded all its senior leaders to attack
Modi on the issue.
Former
finance minister P Chidambaram claimed that the Prime Minister doesn’t come to
the House to listen to anyone from the Opposition. “Today, he was scheduled to
come in at 5pm. He deliberately did not come at that time and came only after
the last speaker from the opposition had concluded. Then he begins his speech
and within minutes attacks the former Prime Minister in the most unacceptable
manner,” he said.
“It
was in extremely poor taste. It is unbecoming of a Prime Minister to use such
language against the former PM. It certainly is unbecoming of anyone to say
such harsh, ugly statements about Dr Manmohan Singh. We are very disappointed
and angry.”
“We
have expressed our protest by walking out. We could have stayed back, created a
ruckus, stormed the well of the House and shouted down the Prime Minister. But
that would have in the circumstances of today brought us down to the level of
the debate which the Prime Minister wanted. We don’t want such a debate to take
place. We want the people to know that no Prime minister has ever used such a
language against a former Prime Minister,” Chidambaram added.
In
a strongly worded attack on the government’s demonetisation exercise in the
Rajya Sabha during the winter session in November last year, Singh said that
several deaths and distress among the poor, farmers and small traders convinced
him the demonetisation plan led to “organised loot and legalised plunder”.
On
Wednesday, in an apparent reference to these comments, PM Modi said, “We have
the ability to pay back in the same coin,” Modi said. “If anyone speaks like
this, he should also be ready to face the consequences.”
But
Sibal defended the use of words “plunder and loot” by Singh, saying those were
not personal remarks against Modi but about the demonetisation policy. “We have
never seen such arrogance. There is a dignity of the chair he occupies. The PM
gives speeches in Parliament as if he speaks in a locality or in a ground. He
doesn’t know what to say and what not in Parliament. The PM thinks that only he
is clean and the rest all of us are black marketers,” he said.
From
the government benches, information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu
supported PM Modi and said that the Congress had earlier described Modi as
Hitler as well as Mussolini.
However,
Congress’ deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma refuted these charges.
“Never ever have we called the Prime Minister names even if he functions in a
dictatorial manner. The fact is that he is behaving in an extremely insulting
and arrogant manner towards the entire opposition. He has also insulted the
memory of India’s martyred Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and used unacceptable
language against the former Prime Minister. We cautioned him initially not to
drag the debate to such a low level,” he said.
Congress’
chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “PM is not a person but an
institution it has a decorum, propriety, morality and discipline in language.
Sadly, Modi ji forgets he is PM of India!”
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