Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lost his cool during a speech in Rajya Sabha when Neeraj Shekhar, BJP MP and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s son, interrupted him. Mr Kharge reminded Mr Shekhar that he was a contemporary of his father and had seen him as a child. Thundering at the BJP MP, he asked him to sit down.
The veteran Congress leader addressed the Upper House Monday during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. He was speaking on the fall of the rupee against the US dollar when Mr Shekhar interrupted him.
“Tera baap ka bhi main aisa sathi tha. Tu kya baat karta hai? Tujhko lekar ghuma. Chup, chup, chup baith (I was your father’s companion. What are you talking about? I took you around. Shut up and sit,” Mr Kharge said.
The outburst prompted an uproar and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was seen asking both sides to keep the calm. “Chandra Shekharji happens to be one of the tallest leaders this country has ever seen. The respect for Chandra Shekharji in the country is immeasurable,” he said, requesting Mr Kharge to withdraw his reference to the former Prime Minister.
Both Mr Kharge and Mr Shekhar said they are cordial to each other whenever they meet.
Mr Kharge said he and the late Chandra Shekhar were arrested together. “That’s why I said your father was my companion. And you got up as if…,” he told Mr Shekhar.
The Chairman said, “You are saying ‘apke baap’, can we certify this expression? You are telling another honourable Member ‘apke baap’, we have to have respect towards Chandra Shekharji. Please withdraw.”
Mr Kharge replied that it is not his habit to insult anyone. He then accused the BJP of insulting former Prime Minister, the late Manmohan Singh. “Someone said he wears a raincoat while bathing, some said he does not talk, some said he cannot run the government. They made such insulting remarks, but he endured them and kept quiet in the country’s interest. He was called Mauni Baba. This habit of insulting people is theirs, we are the ones who tolerate insult.” he said.
A former MP from the Samajwadi Party, Neeraj Shekhar joined the BJP in 2019. His father, Chandra Shekhar, is considered among the tallest socialist leaders in the country’s history and served as Prime Minister for six months from October 1990 to June 1991.
