An almost empty Lok Sabha after virtually all opposition lawmakers walked out today alleging that their mics had been switched off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday rejected angry calls to dismiss a minister whose derogatory comment about religious minorities has paralyzed Parliament with the opposition uniting in angry protests.
"She has apologised...I request the House to continue with its work in the interests of the country," the Prime Minister said today, adding that the minister is a first-time MP, but his comments failed to propitiate the opposition whose leaders say minister Niranjan Jyoti must be fired.
At around 1 pm today, virtually all opposition lawmakers in the lower house or Lok Sabha walked out, alleging that their mics had been switched off to censor their comments against the government. "If they think that they have brute majority in the House and they can do anything, it's not good for democracy," said Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress. The ruling BJP and its allies have a huge majority in the Lok Sabha, and in the past, as well, they have been accused by the Congress of drowning out the opposition's comments.
Speaking to NDTV, Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, refuted the opposition's charges of her bias for the government. "There is no basis for their charge. I have followed the rules and procedures," she said.
Ms Jyoti, junior minister for food processing industries, made her comment at a rally earlier this week in Delhi, where local elections will be held early next year. She apologized to Parliament on Tuesday. "An apology means admission of guilt, and in this case the Constitution has been violated. How can she remain a minister? Niranjan Jyoti must resign," said the Left's Sitaram Yechury in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House, where the government is in a minority. The house has not functioned since Monday over the hate speech.