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LS War of Words Faraz Ahmad & Aditi Tandon/ TNS New Delhi, May 5 A firm Speaker gave Bandopadhyay some lessons in decorum and reprimanded him for showing disrespect to a senior CPM leader in the House yesterday. The TMC leader had hurled expletives on the Left MP during discussions on the Mumbai motormen’s strike in the Lower House yesterday. Objectionable portions had to be expunged from House proceedings. Meira Kumar said, “Sudip Bandopadhyay used certain words while reacting to some observations made by Basudeb Acharia. Those words and the manner in which they were said were quite unbecoming of a member of the House. I disapprove of such conduct and hope no member will again give an occasion for the Chair to make such an observation.” Her ruling did not move the Trinamool member into offering an apology - something the Left-led Opposition demanded all day, forcing two adjournments in the pre-lunch session. Instead he remained defiant, maintaining that he had said nothing un-parliamentary to Acharia. Interestingly, the TMC chief whip had yesterday said he had done Kolkata proud by taking on the CPM and that he would not apologise for his act either inside or outside the House. TMC’s North Kolkata MP’s defiance was intact today - even after the Speaker ruled against him and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee encouraged him to apologise. “I have also lost my temper in the House at times and later regretted it,” Mukherjee said.The drama ended post-lunch only after the Speaker had, during a noon-time meeting with party leaders in Speaker’s chamber, convinced Acharia to abandon his insistence for an apology from the TMC. So at 2 pm, when the House reassembled, the Opposition was in a surprisingly “magnanimous mood,” as Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj led party leaders, including JDU’s Sharad Yadav, SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta among others, to ask Acharia to “forgive and forget” and “let the matter rest” as the Speaker’s ruling had sufficient. Immediately, the House took up the debate seeking caste identification in the census enumeration exercise for the year 2011. But within minutes it again got derailed amidst fresh pandemonium when Ananth Kumar called Lalu Prasad a traitor. He spoke for nearly 30 minutes, focused exclusively on the nationality question stating that this would only help naturalise illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Finally, Lalu Prasad rose “On a Point of Order” objecting to the fact that the BJP leader was digressing from the main issue and only speaking about the “RSS/BJP agenda” and demanded that the “RSS agenda should not go on record.” Ananth Kumar retorted saying, “I am speaking about the national agenda….Laluji, your agenda is anti-national. Laluji you first decide whether you are with India or Bangladesh, you are with India or Pakistan.” Kumar said much more asserting the patriotism of RSS/BJP and questioning Lalu Prasad’s commitment to India forcing the RJD, the SP and the Trinamool Congress and even those treasury benches to rise in protest, even as the entire BJP stood in support of Ananth Kumar, with Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj seen prompting Kumar. With agitated RJD, SP members walking down the aisle, the House had to be adjourned till 3.30 pm. But even after it met while the treasury benches sought an apology from Kumar, he said defiantly, “I have said nothing wrong.” The House had to be adjourned again till 4.45 pm and when the same scenes were repeated it had be adjourned for the day. At one stage, Lalu made a gesture to walk up to Kumar and confront him physically. But other members intervened and saved the situation from turning ugly.
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