NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh, who got into a scuffle with Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) S.S. Ahluwalia in the Rajya Sabha, Tuesday said he was ready to apologise and "didn't want to manhandle him" but was provoked by attempts to divide the house along communal lines.
"I am ready to apologise to Ahluwalia. I didn't want to manhandle him. But he raised slogans, which had the potential of dividing the house into communal lines," the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters after coming out from parliament.
"He was raising slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram'. This is our temple (referring to parliament). It has no religious affiliations. I am a Ram devotee myself. But Ram is not our political figure."
As some members of the BJP raising slogans like "Jai Shri Ram", fisticuffs broke out between the two MPs and others. This happened soon after the Home Minister P. Chidambaram had tabled the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry report probing the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the house.
The slogan shouting angered Amar Singh, who got up and advanced menacingly toward Ahluwalia and objected to the slogans. The SP leader also tried to push Ahluwalia away, but was in turn violently pushed back. This led to other members joining in the scuffle
Amar Singh said later that he did not want a repetition of the events that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992. The demolition triggered widespread communal riots in the country.
"I had asked Ahluwalia not to raise communal slogans. Mujse galti ho gai (I made a mistake)," Amar Singh said while referring to the manhandling of the BJP member.
He added that the Rajya Sabha MP should not have maligned the name of Lord Ram by raising such slogans.