Last Update: February 08, 2023, 21:04 IST
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar during the day asked Kharge and Sitharaman to substantiate Vajpayee’s quoted remarks. (Image: ANI Twitter)
Finance Minister Sitharaman also intervened, saying that Vajpayee’s quote ended with “he (then Chief Minister Narendra Modi) is following Raj Dharma”.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday referred to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ‘Raj Dharma’ remark after the 2002 Gujarat riots, leading to a heated argument in the Rajya Sabha with members of the ruling party who attacked the former prime minister for “partially accused of quoting “at their convenience”.
Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman protested against Kharge’s comments during his speech in the Upper House on Wednesday.
Kharge said in his speech, “I will quote Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. He said in Ahmedabad that India’s image abroad has been tarnished due to communal riots. I didn’t say that. This was said by Atal Bihari ji. How will I go abroad? Raj dharma has not been followed.” Leader of the House and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal quickly responded to Kharge’s remarks, saying Vajpayee was the victim of communal riots during Congress rule, be it in Maharashtra, Bhagalpur or Gujarat. Are.
Finance Minister Sitharaman also intervened, saying that Vajpayee’s quote ended with “he (then Chief Minister Narendra Modi) is following Raj Dharma”.
He said the opposition members were quoting the former prime minister “partly as per their convenience”.
Sitharaman’s reply created an uproar in the House and the opposition demanded that she certify her statement.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar during the day asked Kharge and Sitharaman to substantiate Vajpayee’s quoted remarks.
Dhankhar said the Speaker would “deal with the situation” if any of Vajpayee’s remarks were clipped to suit either side as he was a former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna and a great son of this country.
He said, “If any observation made by him is clipped… (and) if it is not given properly by this (ruling party) side or that (opposition) side, then it will be difficult to deal with the situation.” It is the duty of the Speaker to
Kharge displayed a newspaper report quoting Vajpayee, but the Speaker refused to accept it, saying, “Newspaper reports are no substitute for documentation. You have to verify what you have said.” In his speech, Kharge also said that Gujarat is among the low-ranking states in terms of infant mortality rate and malnutrition.
“The infant mortality rate in Gujarat is 31 per 1,000 children. Twenty-five percent of newborns are malnourished. Gujarat ranks 29th out of 30 states. Certified! According to NITI Aayog and Harvard, Gujarat ranks at the bottom on various health indicators.”
He said that out of the 10 lowest performing districts in the list, six are from Gujarat.
They said Narendra Modi Served as Chief Minister of Gujarat for 13.5 years, and held the office of Prime Minister for nine years.
He said, “Earlier also there was a BJP government (in the state). When you rule for 25-40 years, this is the situation in your state and you talk about others.
He also raised the issue of increase in domestic and domestic gas prices and compared them with the UPA tenure. He also asked for the status of two crore jobs a year promised by Modi in the 2014 elections.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)