Andhra MPs from the party protested with placards; House adjourned within minutes
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday saw protests from policy-makers of Andhra Pradesh's Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress, both NDA allies, who demanded a special package in the Budget for their state.
The MPs held placards to protest. An MP even brought a 'chipli' or 'kartal', a musical instrument, to present his party's demands and started singing. The disruptions by the Andhra MPs led to a brief adjournment of the House twice within a short span.
After the House convened, BJP MP Rakesh Singh took up the motion to thank the President's address. During his speech, Singh took potshots at the Congress and said that while the tallest leader in the party was the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader's push for cleanliness was never implemented by the party. Taking the example of Janakibai, an 80-year-old tribal woman who got a house under Awas Yojana, Singh said that women refuse to marry in a house that doesn't have a toilet.
"Our government has the world's cheapest health insurance, he says. Within three years we provided electricity to over 15,000 villages. We will electrify every village within this year," said Singh. "They (UPA) enjoyed power for 55 years but we have realised Mahatma Gandhi's vision in three years. A total of 5.5 crore toilets were built in the last three years."
Another BJP MP, Prahlad Joshi, during his speech for the Motion of Thanks for the President's speech, accused the Congress of "insulting pakodawallas", citing the case of an engineering graduate who is making more money by selling the snack. Pralhad Joshi's remark came a day after BJP chief Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha that it was better for a youth to earn a living by selling pakodas instead of remaining unemployed.
Joshi, who seconded the motion after his party colleague Singh moved it and initiated the debate, referred to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's jibe at Modi and said that the former Finance Minister had insulted PM Narendra Modi who sold tea during his childhood.
He said that in his Dharwad constituency, a person who holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, sells pakodas. "He left his job and is selling pakodas because he is earning more," Joshi said.
During the post-lunch speech, as Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge rose to present his Motion of Thanks, both PM Modi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were present.
Kharge accused the BJP of trying to sideline the "good work" done by the UPA over the last 70 years and raised the issues of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh during which the treasury benches tried to drown his voice with slogans.
Raising the issues of GST and of farmer loan waivers, Kharge said that NDA government has budgeted only Rs 60,000 crore for MNREGA, whereas to provide wages to 4 crore BPL households, at least Rs 90,000 crore would be needed. "Where is the 56 inch chest? You speak a lot abroad, but in Parliament you don't," said Kharge. (with agency inputs)
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