PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha today
"Modi jawab do (the Prime Minister must answer)," chanted angry opposition leaders in Parliament today, demanding an explanation for why a union minister has not been fired despite her hate speech in Delhi over the weekend. She must be jailed, said Congress leader Anand Sharma.
The PM was in the Lok Sabha today but did not comment on the controversy. "There is no question of Niranjan Jyoti resigning," said Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
The Upper House or Rajya Sabha was adjourned by 2:30 pm with the opposition unyielding in its demand for the minister to be sacked; the lower house or Lok Sabha , however, got to work.
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, a union minister from Uttar Pradesh, said at a rally in the capital on Monday, "The people of Delhi have to decide if they want a government of
Ramzaadon (descendants of Ram) or
haramzaadon (those who are illegitimately born)."
Ms Jyoti, 47, apologised in Parliament yesterday, reportedly on the orders of the Prime Minister, but opposition parties like the Left want her sacked and say she must face criminal charges for trying to incite communal hatred. "I have apologized. What else can I do?" she said later.
"This is a non-issue. No further action will be taken against her... The minister has apologised on the floor of the House. That is good enough and speaks for itself," said BJP minister Prakash Javadekar this morning before Parliament proceedings began.