A banter between Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar sent peals of laughter through the House, providing a rare break amid heated exchanges this session. The banter, however, soon turned to acrimony as Mr Kharge accused the Chairman of defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp response.
The Congress president was arguing in favour of a discussion of the violence in Manipur under Rule 267. The Chair has said that the government is ready to discuss the issue under Rule 176 which provides for a short duration discussion.
The disagreement over the rule to hold the discussion under has blocked proceedings in Upper House for nearly two weeks now.
"A notice under Rule 267 demands that all other business be set aside and the issue taken up on priority. This has been a precedent. I don't understand how this has become a prestige issue. You told us that there must be a reason to hold a discussion under Rule 267, we have told you the reason," Mr Kharge told the Chair.
"Yesterday I requested you, but you were probably angry," he added, prompting a round of laughter from the benches.
The Chairman was laughed and added, "I am a married man for more than 45 years. I am never angry," he said, as another round of laughter rang through the House.
He then referred to Congress leader P Chidambaram and said, "Mr Chidambaram, a very distinguished senior advocate will know. As senior advocate, we have no right to show our anger, at least to the authority. You (Kharge) are an authority, Sir."
As the Chairman pressed Mr Kharge for a "modification" to his remark, the Congress president replied, "You don't show it, but you are angry within."
This started another round of laughs. The Chairman joined in too.
Mr Kharge continued, reiterating that despite the Opposition arguments on why the discussion should be held under the Rule 267, the Chairman has said there is no reason to hold it under this rule.
"This has become a prestige issue now. We are raising it daily. They (treasury benches) are opposing it. My suggestion is you call a meeting at 1 pm at your chamber. Till then, the House can be adjourned. We can sort this out and then return at 2 pm," he said.
The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha then launched a scathing attack on Mr Dhankhar. "You don't accept even a small suggestion. We demanded that the Prime Minister address the House, you did not accept that. You are defending the Prime Minister," he said, prompting angry protests by BJP members.
Responding to the Congress chief's remarks, the Chairman said, "We must be alive to our situation that we are a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. We are a democracy, functional, vibrant, globally recognised. India is the only democracy in the world that has constitutional democracy at the village level. Our Prime Minister is not required to be defended by me. He has come to be recognised on global platforms. Every Indian must be proud."
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