NEW DELHI: The political temperature rose in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the Budget session when the chair allowed RLD chief Jayant Singh, the grandson of late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, to speak in the House.
Opposition members protested when Singh started on a laudatory note thanking the Modi government for the decision to confer Bharat Ratna on Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar tried to bring order asking the Opposition members to follow the House decorum. But when the din continued, leader of the House Piyush Goyal came down heavily on Congress leaders saying the protest was an insult to the late Prime Minister.
“Had he belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi family, the previous government led by Congress would have awarded him the Bharat Ratna. But it did not happen,” Goyal said.
He also asked the leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to apologise for his comments. Kharge said he saluted all those who have worked for the country irrespective of their political affiliation.
House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at the Opposition saying that instead of honouring the late PM, they insulted Chaudhary Charan Singh.
“You are hurting farmers of the country by creating such a situation,” said Dhankhar. He cautioned the Opposition benches that he will not tolerate any insult to Chaudhary Charan Singh.
“He stands for impeccable public life, integrity and commitment to farmers,” he said.