Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Mani Shankar Aiyar drew the ire of the Upper House on Friday morning for his purported remark where he had compared MPs rushing into the well of the House in Parliament to “animals”. After a TV channel aired Aiyar's comment, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav gave a breach of privilege notice against Aiyar.
While opposition MPs raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha soon after Question Hour, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla called the reported statement improper if it had been made. He apologised on behalf of Aiyar and said he would also request Aiyar to apologise.
BJP Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Ravi Shankar Prasad of the BJP and Naresh Agrawal of the SP demanded an apology from Aiyar.
Since Aiyar was not present in the House, PJ Kurein, who was in the chair, assured them that he would ask Aiyar to explain his position, adding there were provisions if Aiyar did not turn up.
“If that does not happen, then there is a course of action.”