NEW DELHI: A ruckus erupted in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after Bharatiya Janata Party raised objections to leader of opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge's remark, deeming it "unparliamentary".
Amid the uproar over demands of an apology from Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his remarks against the Tamil Nadu government, Kharge stood up to intervene and said, "This is a dictatorship."
"Hum poori tayyari se aaye hain aur aapko kya kya thokna hai thik se thokenge, sarkar ko bhi thokenge( the opposition was prepared to corner the government)" Kharge added.
Union minister JP Nadda objected to Kharge's remarks and said that the "The language used by the leader of opposition, the aspersions on the chair, is condemnable."
"This is to be condemned by one and all. The words and language used for the Chair is unpardonable, still he should apologise and the word should be expunged," he added.
Deputy chairman Harivansh also expressed disapproval over Kharge's remark, noting his seniority in the House and emphasising the need for appropriate language choice.
Kharge, however apologised for his remarks and clarified that the remarks were directed towards the government's policy and not against the the Chair.
"I apologize, I never spoke against you. I criticized the government's policy, and I said sorry if my words seemed harsh to you," Kharge said.
This came a day after a war of words broke out between Pradhan and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs after Pradhan termed the Tamil Nadu government as "dishonest" and the people of the state as "uncivilised".
Pradhan in the Parliament strongly criticized the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party regarding the controversy over the three-language policy in the New Education Policy.
During his address in Lok Sabha, Pradhan accused the DMK of being "dishonest" and playing "politics" at the cost of Tamil Nadu students' future. "They (DMK) are dishonest. They are not committed to the students of Tamil Nadu."
"They are ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students. Their only job is to raise language barriers. They are doing politics. They are making mischief. They are undemocratic and uncivilised," Pradhan said.
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