New Delhi: Parliament was in a state of uproar on Thursday after the opposition demanded a formal apology from Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu for his 'insulting' remarks.
The Lok Sabha had to be adjourned twice — once between 11.10 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., and again between 11.32 a.m. and 11.45 a.m. — as Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge called on the Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to censure Naidu and ask him to apologise for targetting the Congress during Wednesday's proceedings.
However, Mahajan maintained that Naidu had already expressed his regret on the same day itself, and therefore, there was no need for him to give a fresh apology.
This led to the opposition voicing its protests strongly, with some of its members trooping into the Well of the House to insist that Naidu formally apologise. The Speaker had no recourse but to adjourn proceedings.
"Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu must apologize. If he adopts such an attitude, we won't let the Lok Sabha function," said Congress leader P.L. Punia.
Naidu, however, clarified that he did not intend to hurt anybody's feelings. He added that the opposition had misinterpreted his statements.
"I have one problem I always give facts, I respect the Opposition, never used unparliamentary language," he added.
As per reports, Naidu had advised the Congress to "self-introspect" on its electoral and political decline. In an apparent jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's leave to introspect, he said if the Congress can't do it here then it should "go somewhere far" and do it.
