Nasik:
In what could become a controversial statement, Lok Sabha MP and senior NCP leader Supriya Sule has revealed that parliamentarians do indulge in small talk and gossip even when serious issues are discussed, especially when speeches at Parliament get repetitive.
"When I go to the Parliament, I hear the first speech, then a second and then a third. And in the fourth speech the speaker repeats what the earlier three spoke. And if you ask me what the fourth speaker said, I really can't remember anything," Ms Sule said while speaking to female students and young women in Maharashtra's Nashik on Thursday.
"So we gossip with other MPs which is common unlike in your classrooms. And to the people who watch from top (gallery) or on TV, you'll think we are discussing 'national issues'. If you saw me talking to an MP from Chennai you might think we having a big discussion on the Chennai rains. We don't discuss anything like that. 'Where did you get your sari from, where did I get my sari from.' We gossip all this. Don't you gossip in the same way?" she asked the audience which burst into a thunderous applause.
She then moved to the topic of reservation in Parliament which had been alluded to in a previous speech by one of her party colleagues.
"Male MPs in Parliament tease me that if there is 50 per cent reservation for women, then in Parliament the discussion will only be on parlours, facials and saris. I told them you comment on our sarees but you'll have done no good for the country. So there is no harm in giving a chance to us," she said.
Ms Sule appeared to make the comments in a light-hearted banter as she was speaking to a young crowd.
However, with Parliament repeatedly being washed out, Ms Sule's revelations only add to the perception that our lawmakers are probably not as serious as they ought to be.