Over the ongoing deadlock in Parliament, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday told Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar that when he met the chairman on Wednesday, Dhankhar was angry. "I am a married man for over 45 years. Believe me, sir, I am never angry. Mr Chidambaram, a very distinguished senior advocate, will know as senior advocates we have no right to show anger at least to the authority. You are an authority, sir. I am never angry, please modify," Dhankhar said in a jestful reply.
In reply, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Probably, you don't show your anger. But you get angry.". To this, the chairman laughed and said referring to his wife, "She is not a member of this house. We can't discuss someone who is not a member of this house...in this relationship. Otherwise, we can discuss".
Kharge said the opposition has been raising this issue every day that the Manipur debate should be debated under Rule 267. "My suggestion is please call a meeting at your chamber at 1pm to discuss this issue," Kharge said. As there were murmurs of protest in the House, Kharge added, "You don't accept even a small proposal like this. When we ask for PM's presence, you don't accept that. You are defending the prime minister so much that I don't get it."
{{/usCountry}}Kharge said the opposition has been raising this issue every day that the Manipur debate should be debated under Rule 267. "My suggestion is please call a meeting at your chamber at 1pm to discuss this issue," Kharge said. As there were murmurs of protest in the House, Kharge added, "You don't accept even a small proposal like this. When we ask for PM's presence, you don't accept that. You are defending the prime minister so much that I don't get it."
{{/usCountry}}The chairman said nothing will go on record.
Countering what Kharge said on 'defending PM Modi', the Rajya Sabha chairman said, "We must always be alive to a situation that we are a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. We are a democracy most functional, vibrant and globally recognised. India is the only democratic nation in the world that has a constitutional democracy at the village level...Our prime minister does not require to be defended by me. He has been recognised on global platforms, Senate and Congress in the US. You should be proud of that."
'I am not required to defend anyone'
“After three decades of coalition government under the PM, I am not required to defend anyone. I am required to defend Constitution. I am required to defend your rights,” Dhankhar added. “Where are we heading? You are entitled to a political stance. I am not a stakeholder in politics. I am not concerned with the politics of parties. I am concerned with governance. I am concerned with the growth of the country,”