Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (File pic)
New Delhi:
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath that he is abrasive and should change his style.
"We want the House to run. We want to cooperate," said Ms Swaraj, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. "Don't be abrasive. You lack politeness. More than what you say, how you say matters," she said, after the minister spoke rudely to her party colleague, Murli Manohar Joshi.
"How can you speak to me like this? No one has spoken to me like this in 40 years?" Mr Joshi asked the minister in the Lok Sabha.
The minister said that he did not mean any disrespect to the veteran parliamentarian.
"If my words have hurt him, I take them back," Mr Nath said.
The confrontation occurred when Mr Joshi, who was to open the debate on the Food Security Bill, asked the minister to control Congress members protesting against the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create Telangana as a separate state.
The government needs Parliament's seal of approval on the Food Security Ordinance, which will lapse if it is not passed in this Monsoon Session.
Near-daily disruptions have left Parliament struggling to function in the short 16-day Monsoon Session which ends on August 31.
With dozens of important bills piling up and a national election possibly just months away, this session of Parliament is crucial for the government to drive through some long-pending economic reforms and get Parliament's seal of approval on its flagship programme to give cheap grain to 67 per cent of the population. The Congress is counting on the scheme to serve as a major vote-getter.
"We want the House to run. We want to cooperate," said Ms Swaraj, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. "Don't be abrasive. You lack politeness. More than what you say, how you say matters," she said, after the minister spoke rudely to her party colleague, Murli Manohar Joshi.
"How can you speak to me like this? No one has spoken to me like this in 40 years?" Mr Joshi asked the minister in the Lok Sabha.
The minister said that he did not mean any disrespect to the veteran parliamentarian.
"If my words have hurt him, I take them back," Mr Nath said.
The confrontation occurred when Mr Joshi, who was to open the debate on the Food Security Bill, asked the minister to control Congress members protesting against the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create Telangana as a separate state.
The government needs Parliament's seal of approval on the Food Security Ordinance, which will lapse if it is not passed in this Monsoon Session.
Near-daily disruptions have left Parliament struggling to function in the short 16-day Monsoon Session which ends on August 31.
With dozens of important bills piling up and a national election possibly just months away, this session of Parliament is crucial for the government to drive through some long-pending economic reforms and get Parliament's seal of approval on its flagship programme to give cheap grain to 67 per cent of the population. The Congress is counting on the scheme to serve as a major vote-getter.
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