New Delhi:
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge‘s remark in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday afternoon – about his party having come prepared to hold the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to account – triggered a furious row after MPs from the latter objected to a certain “derogatory” word they claimed was meant for the Chair.
The Congress chief’s remarks were condemned by BJP boss and Leader of the House JP Nadda, who called them “unpardonable”. “… he should apologise and the word should be expunged,” he declared.
Mr Kharge obliged, apologising immediately and voluntarily withdrawing the remark – which, in Hindi translates loosely as ‘nailing’ someone. “I am sorry. I was not speaking about you (the Chair)… it was about government policies. I am sorry if you were hurt by my remarks. I apologise,” he said.
The flare up followed from Monday’s chaos – a fierce spat between the centre and Tamil Nadu over delimitation and the ‘imposition’ of Hindi via the three-language formula of the new education policy.
Then, it was the BJP’s turn to be blasted for the use of unparliamentary language.
Then Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam took umbrage over Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s strong comments about Tamil Nadu, including calling the state “dishonest”. Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed Mr Pradhan as “arrogant” and for “thinking of himself like a king”.
Mr Pradhan’s remarks triggered protests from DMK MPs within and outside Parliament, and the party’s senior leader, K Kanimozhi, later filed a privilege motion against the Education Minister.
READ | “Ruining Students”, “Arrogant”: Centre vs Tamil Nadu on Hindi Row
In his speech in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Kharge referred to Mr Pradhan’s comments, denouncing him and the BJP-led centre for having “hurt the self-respect of the people of a section of the country…”
“They are talking about dividing the country… about breaking the country,” he thundered, calling on Mr Pradhan (referring to him as “that minister in the Modi government”) to resign immediately.
The Congress chief, whose party is allied with the DMK, also said Mr Pradhan’s remarks were “unacceptable” and showed “blatant disregard for the dignity and rights of the Tamil people”.
The headlines around Parliament this time (the second half of the Budget session) have focused on delimitation and ‘Hindi imposition’, with Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK criticising the former as “a blatant assault on federalism” and the latter as the act of “entitled bigots”.
The centre has refuted both charges.
In Tamil Nadu last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the state would not lose a single seat in Parliament as a result of delimitation, or the redrawing of constituency boundaries.
READ | Stalin Raises Delimitation Stakes, Calls 7 State Leaders To Chennai
And, on the ‘Hindi imposition’ front, Mr Pradhan dismissed fears of regional languages being sidelined. He told NDTV the new policy only gives students the chance to learn a third language (in addition to their mother tongue and English) and does not require that it be Hindi.
However, Tamil Nadu has rejected both counterarguments.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has pointed out that Mr Shah, while he may have said the southern states won’t lose any seats, did not also say those in the north would not gain any.
He has also led a strong attack on Mr Pradhan over ‘imposition of Hindi’, including accusing him of “blackmail” for threatening to withhold funds if the education policy is not fully implemented.
With input from agencies
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