Dr Sivaprasad from Telugu Desam Party dressed up in white and black to make point on notes ban.
Highlights
- Dr Sivaprasad from Telugu Desam Party wears unusual clothing
- Half-black, half-white shirt and pant make statement on notes ban
- His party is ally of BJP, he walks over to greet BJP veteran LK Advani
Despite the shouting and the rushing around of angrily protesting members of the Lok Sabha, one member stood out.
Dr Sivaprasad, a lawmaker from the Telugu Desam Party, who represents Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor parliamentary seat, was dressed in black and white.
No, he was not wearing a black trouser and white shirt. Or the reverse. His shirt and his trousers were half black and half white. And stickers depicting the state of black money hoarders and the common man were glued on his shirt.
Slowly walking down the middle aisle of the Lok Sabha, Dr Sivaprasad ensured he was visible to all his colleagues.
Just when opposition lawmakers were about to start their sloganeering, the TDP lawmaker went over to the Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and explained his attire as a comment on demonetization.
An excited Saugato Roy of the Trinamool asked him to go over to the Treasury Benches or the ruling benches for a sort of twirl.
Dr Sivaprasad obligingly crossed over and did a namaste to BJP patriarch LK Advani and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar. Point made.
"People with black money are laughing at this act of Modiji and the common man are weeping," Dr Sivaprasad told NDTV later.
Asked if he was defying his party, which is an ally of the BJP and supports the notes ban, Dr Sivaprasad's defense was that he was "giving expression to the artist in him."
"Whenever there is a crisis, the artist in me comes out. This is to request Modiji that whatever your people are telling you, that everyone is welcoming (demonetization), and the common man is happy, is not the truth, "said Dr Sivaprasad and added, "Modiji, please take corrective action."
Interestingly, while Sivaprasad's TDP colleagues didn't join in his "effort to highlight the plight of the common man," they didn't stop him either.
"We have been supportive of the move but our Chief Minister has been very critical of the implementation process," another TDP lawmaker who didn't wish to be quoted told NDTV.