Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee lost his temper and shouted at the Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, when they stalled the proceedings on various issues, including supply of gunny bags to store foodgrains in Madhya Pradesh.
The Opposition protests forced Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the proceedings twice.
When the House met again at 4 p.m., Mr. Mukherjee said he owed an “apology” to the House. “I tried to intervene in a matter raised by Mr. Yashwant Sinha [BJP], but an unfortunate incident took place...I lost my temper. It was not appropriate,” he said, amid thumping of desks by the BJP members.
Earlier, when the Opposition protested, an angry Mr. Mukherjee remarked: “This is zero hour…You cannot force me to reply…” Amid interruptions he went on: “I am not going to speak. If you force me, I am not going to speak. This is not the way.”
AIADMK members, led by their leader M. Thambi Durai, also trooped into the well raising the Aircel-Maxis deal. The issue was raised by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha targeting the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, alleging that his son was involved. Mr. Sinha demanded a statement from Mr. Mukherjee, who is the leader of the House.