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Apologise or face action, Speaker Om Birla tells Azam Khan

He has never respected women, we all know what he had said about Jaya Prada. He has no right to stay in the Lok Sabha, I will request the Speaker to dismiss him, says Rama Devi

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BJP MP Rama Devi arrives to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at Parliament on Friday
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Voicing the concerns raised by Lok Sabha members across party lines, Speaker Om Birla on Friday categorically told Samajwadi Party member Azam Khan to either apologise for his "sexist" remarks against BJP member Rama Devi or face action.

During a debate on the bill to criminalise Triple Talaq, Rama Devi, chairing the proceedings as Speaker on behalf of Birla, had asked Azam Khan to face the Chair instead of looking at the treasury benches during his speech. Khan responded with out-of-line comments that were slammed as sexist and offensive and provoked shouts of "shame" and "nonsense" from the government benches. While Khan later attempted to clarify, he soon left in a huff after being asked to tender an apology.

As the issue agitated several members, the Speaker met Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Jayadev Galla, Danish Ali, Supriya Sule among others to discuss the matter before the start of the proceedings on Friday. Rama Devi who was at the receiving end of Khan's remarks said, "He has never respected women, we all know what he had said about Jaya Prada. He has no right to stay in the Lok Sabha, I will request the Speaker to dismiss him. Azam Khan must apologise."

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Union minister Smriti Irani dubbed the remarks made by Khan a "blot" on all legislators, including men. "This is a blot on all legislators, including men. We cannot remain silent spectators to it. We have to speak in one voice that this is unacceptable," she said.

Supporting Irani, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said either Khan should tender an apology or he should be suspended from the House to set an example that such abominable behaviour will not be tolerated.

Terming Azam Khans remarks "utterly condemnable", finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the Speaker to take exemplary action. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress's Kalyan Banerjee, Biju Janata Dal's Bhratruhari Mahtab and Nationalist Congress Party's Supriya Sule were among the members who echoed similar sentiments condemning Azam Khan's remarks.

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