The controversy over a derogatory statement made against Atal Bihari Vajpayee by a Congress member during the Liberhan report debate in Lok Sabha today is not likely to die down soon, what with BJP mulling over stalling of Parliament till he apologises for his remarks.
"I am today both sad and angry at the way the home minister replied to the debate, even as the BJP members raised the issue of insult to Vajpayeeji. Even in the din, he continued to reply, and nobody bothered to listen to the issue that was being raised by BJP," deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told reporters.
She lamented that it happened despite assuring the speaker that the House will "start functioning in 20 seconds" provided Congress member Beni Prasad Verma apologised for "insulting" Vajpayee.
While young MPs Shahnawaz Hussain and Kirti Azad are demanding that BJP should not permit Parliament to function till Verma apologises, Swaraj said a Parliamentary party meeting will be held tomorrow morning to decide the future course of action.
Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley seemed to suggest that Verma should apologise. "How could the debate continue without an apology from Verma? How can he be allowed to go away without an apology?" he asked.
"People are upset that the government has trivialised the debate. 20 more members had to speak. Opposition against the insult to Atalji and comments on Advani were not taken up," he added.
Jaitley also took on home minister P Chidambaram, pointing out loopholes in his reply in the Lok Sabha on the Liberhan debate.
"Chidambaram apparently said he will file a case against those who funded the demolition. This seems like an afterthought, as he has been part of the government before. How could he wake up to this issue now? There is no basis or evidence to establish the connection between funding of the Ram temple movement and the demolition," Jaitley said.
On Chidambaram's comment that there are two ideas of India — one progressive and the other divisive — Jaitley said, "I don't think Chidambaram has understood the cultural heritage of the country. India has a very rich cultural heritage and Chidambaram is apologetic about India's cultural heritage."
Swaraj said though Verma spoke about Advani and other members, Vajpayee was not present in the House. In such type of debates, no deadline is set for the reply, so the opposition's plea on Vajpayee insult should have been taken up," she said.
Defending BJP's protest in the House, she said, "We would have sat back silently and listened to the home minister's reply. There was a procedural lapse also, as the House was to only go on till 6pm. The sense of the House to continue the sitting beyond 6pm was also not taken by the Chair, and the reply continued beyond 6pm," she said.
BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain said his party will not allow the House to function till Verma apologises.
"Atalji has served the country and Parliament for several years, and nobody will insult him. Till Verma apologises for insulting Vajpayee, BJP will not let Parliament to function," he said.
He alleged that the Congress has conspired to make Verma insult Vajpayee. "Insult to Vajpayee is an insult to the country. But all Verma has to do is apologise," he said.
BJP MP from Darbhanga, Kirti Azad said, "The word used by Verma to insult Vajpayee attracts the provisions of the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He has to apologise for that."
He claimed that since the House was to function only till 6pm and no permission was taken by the Chair to continue the sitting beyond that time, "whatever the home minister replied after 6pm will not find a place in the records of the House."
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