New Delhi: As expected it has been a stormy start to the second part of Parliament's Budget Session with the Congress raising a hue and cry over Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh's comments on the colour of Sonia Gandhi's skin.
As soon as the Lok Sabha resumed after a break of one month, Congress MPs were up in arms and called for Nawada MP Giriraj Singh's resignation and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They shouted slogans against Singh and claimed that several Union ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs had been making "derogatory comments" on women, their rivals and other sections of the society but the Prime Minister was yet to act against them.
After Lok Sabha Speaker rejected an adjournment motion by Congress MP from Guna Jyotiraditya Scindia, some opposition MPs raised slogans against the Centre. Congress Leader in Lok Sabha and Gulbarga MP Mallikarjun Kharge led his party's charge and said the issue being raised by his colleagues was a serious matter.
"The statements being made by various minister and MPs on women is a serious matter. They should not use such language and the Prime Minister must act," said Kharge while pointing towards Giriraj's comments.
He was supported by Scindia who said that several MPs belonging to the ruling coalition were making statements that were serious and endangering the stability of the country. He gave the examples of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's article on disenfranchisement of Muslims and comments made by Giriraj.
Rejecting the Congress demands of an apology by the Prime Minister, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu targeted the opposition and accused it of dragging Narendra Modi's name into every incident while adding that such statements should not be made.
"The Prime Minister is nowhere in this picture. The issue raised is an important issue that needs to be responded to. Nobody from the government approves such comments and that too personal comments. This sort of comment is not acceptable," said Naidu.
But Congress MPs kept on harping on Modi's apology. "It is a comment from a minister and not any leader. It is a collective responsibility and so the Prime Minister should apologise," said Kharge.
While Speaker Sumitra Mahajn asked Naidu to ensure that ruling coalition MPs restrain themselves from making such comments, Congress MPs kept on shouting slogans saying insult of women was not acceptable.
The Speaker had to adjourn the Lok Sabha for a brief period. After resumption Giriraj Singh apologised for his comments and claimed that his intention was not to insult or hurt anyone.
Singh had commented that the colour of Sonia Gandhi's skin had made her the Congress President. "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn't white skinned, would Congress accept her as a leader", the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Nawada constituency had said.
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