Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee was on Tuesday asked to tender an “unconditional apology” in the lok Sabha by BJP members for his alleged foul remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister lal Bahadur Shastri.
The BJP members threatened to bring a censure motion against him if he did not apologise. The CPI(M) also supported the BJP on the issue.
“It appears Banerjee is adamant. If he fails to apologise, we will be forced to bring a censure motion against him,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in the lok Sabha after BJP MP SS Ahluwalia raised the issue during Zero Hour drawing attention to “objectionable” remarks by the TMC member at a public meeting in West Bengal.
Ahluwalia objected to certain controversial comments made by the TMC MP against Modi and also against late Prime Minister lal Bahadur Shastri.
Without taking the name of Banerjee, who was present, Ahluwalia wanted the member to express apology in the House.
He said it was unbecoming of the member to have made remarks against Shastri whom the nation still remembers fondly for his work and jai jawan jai kisan slogan.
CPI(M) member Mohammad Salim was quick to support the BJP member recalling the controversial remarks of another TMC member Tapas Pal. Sreemathi Teacher, also of CPI(M), too supported it, contending that no member should speak such a language either inside or outside.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was first to take the name of the MP, said it is in the interest of Banerjee and his party that he expresses unconditional apology. Naidu maintained that the TMC member had two days back said people in 2019 will slap Modi and send him back to lanes of Gandhinagar from which he will never be able to return.
When a TMC MP Sugata Roy joined the issue saying rule book do not provide for any apology, the Treasury benches responded with protest shouts. The house was then adjourned by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan until lunch.
The issue was also raised in the BJP's Parliamentary Party which met here with Minister of State Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi strongly condemning the alleged comments of the TMC MP. Strongly objecting to Banerjee’s alleged comments, BJP MPs said “it has become a habit with the TMP MP to make foul statements and the habit needs to be checked”, according to sources.
A notice may be issued to Banerjee by one of the BJP member in lok Sabha asking him to respond. Banerjee was, however, unfazed claiming that there could not be “any censure or privilege case” against him.