The Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke all parliamentary norms by accusing the then Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari of having an “inclination” towards the opposition when the BJP came to power in 2014.
In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha on July 2, Modi said, “No matter how many numbers they claim, when we came in 2014, our strength in the Rajya Sabha was very low, and the Chair’s inclination was somewhat on the other side. But we did not waver from our resolve to serve the country with pride.”
“I want to tell the people of the country that the decision you have made, the order you have given us to serve, neither Modi nor this government will be afraid of any such obstacles. We will fulfill the resolutions we have set out to achieve,” Modi had said.
While Modi did not name anyone, former vice president Ansari was the chairman of the Rajya Sabha from August 2012 to August 2017.
This is the first time the Congress has reacted to the remarks made by the prime minister earlier this week apparently referring to Ansari.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “One thing that the non-biological PM said in the Lok Sabha on July 2nd has escaped much media notice. What he said was simply awful and unacceptable, and ought to have been immediately expunged.”
Modi accused former chairman of the Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari of “leaning” towards the Opposition, he claimed.
Ramesh said, “This is not the first time Mr. Modi has targeted Mr. Ansari. In his farewell speech on Mr. Ansari’s retirement 7 years ago, he alluded to Mr. Ansari’s top diplomatic postings which happened to be in Islamic countries.”
“That these countries were of vital interest to India, and that Mr. Ansari retired from the IFS (Indian Foreign Service) after having served as High Commissioner to Australia and as India’s Permanent Representative at the UN in New York as well, was mischievously overlooked,” he said.
No prime minister has ever attacked a former speaker (Lok Sabha) or chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the manner that Modi has, Ramesh alleged.
“He (Modi) has broken all parliamentary norms in doing so — not that he has respected them at all. He has further diminished whatever is left of the dignity of the office he holds after his despicable election campaign,” he said.
