Parliament snippets -- Keep it short, HM

December 18, 2014 10:12 pm | Updated 10:16 pm IST

Sweet exchange

Amid bitter exchanges between the Treasury and the Opposition benches in the Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party) was seen providing sweet relief. The MP generously passed around a box of candies. While IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad walked up to collect his share, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu was seen popping one into Congressman Anand Sharma's mouth, attempting to sweeten the discourse.

‘Arrogance of numbers’ Vs ‘Tyranny of Majority’

After the BJP refused to give in to their demand for a statement by the Prime Minister on the conversions issue, Anand Sharma (Congress) accused the Government of being “arrogant”. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded that while the Lok Sabha was functioning, it is only the Rajya Sabha that is not, which means it is not the arrogance of the government, but the “arrogance of numbers” (of the Opposition) that is stalling the House. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) shot back: The Lok Sabha was functioning because of the “tyranny of majority”.

Kharge gives Venkaiah a bit of his own medicine

If Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu dug out a Nehru letter on Wednesday to counter criticism of HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s visit to an astrologer, it was Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s turn on Thursday to give him a bit of his own medicine. Questioning the Government’s refusal to refer successive Bills to Departmental Standing Committees, Mr. Kharge reminded Mr. Naidu how the UPA had agreed to the BJP’s demand for referring a Bill to one such committee despite a degree of urgency in getting the legislation in place. “You were chairman of that committee and when the Opposition then said that the report would be submitted in three days, the UPA agreed.”

Keep it short, HM

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh may not be acceptable to the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha for a reply on conversions and communal incidents, but when K.C. Tyagi (JD-U) said the House may not want to listen to him because of his “long-drawn speeches”, Minister of State Nirmala Sitharaman objected. “When the Home Minister gets up to speak -- may be long or short -- he is a competent person to talk on the issue… Even to say in a light vein that his speeches are too long is very unfair,” she said raising her voice above the din, which made Mr. Tyagi retract his remark somewhat and add: “But I enjoy his speeches”.

Didi doesn’t blink

During a chance encounter between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in Parliament, she enquired about his health and so on. When he informed her about his plans to visit Kolkata to discuss ‘government issues, not politics’, pat came the reply from Didi – who is at loggerheads with the BJP in the State – “why not politics. We will discuss politics also”.

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