PM In House As Congress Shouts "Apologise To Dr Sahab (Manmohan Singh)"

New Delhi: The curtailed winter session of parliament lost yet another day as the opposition pressed for an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his allegations that his predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh, had colluded with Pakistani officials to influence the Gujarat elections. The Lok Sabha -- where the Prime Minister was present today for the Question Hour -- was adjourned temporarily, the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the day, as slogan-shouting members of the opposition refused to relent.

Senior Congress leaders later said they would prefer an explanation. "When did we ask for an apology? We want a clarification from the PM. Let him say he had given this allegation to win the Gujarat election and withdraw the statement," said Ghulam Nabi Azad. "We want nothing less than a discussion and an explanation why such remarks were made," added Mallikarjun Kharge.
The government has made it clear that there will be no apology or explanation.

Prime Minister was present at the Lok Sabha since today's Question Hour was on his office. But no work was conducted. As the Question Hour started, the members assembled in the Well of the House, shouting "Dr sahab se maafi maango" (apologise to Dr Manmohan Singh). Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the proceedings of the House till noon.

In Rajya Sabha, chairman Venkaiah Naidu's repeated appeals for calm went unheeded. "This is not the way. Nobody is going to give apology. Nothing happened in the House. The statement was not made here," Mr Naidu was heard saying amid the uproar.

PM Modi's accusation, made at a pre-election rally in Gujarat last week, has triggered a huge controversy. Dr Singh has made an unusually sharp rebuttal, accusing the Prime Minister of trying to win "political points" through "canards" and demanding that he apologise to the nation.

That demand is being hotly pursued by the Congress in parliament.

Little was done over the three days since the shortened Winter Session started. Yesterday, Mr Naidu said he had met senior leaders from both sides to try and address the problem. He said he also met Dr Singh. There was an agreement that a joint committee will be formed to find a solution.

"PM Modi must either apologise to Manmohan Singh-ji or give a valid proof why he accused him in that speech. He can't carry out such calumny... Our protest will continue till we get what we want," Congress leader Rajiv Shukla later said.