Congress, NCP, RJD walk out of Lok Sabha over Modi jibe

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Thursday staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "raincoat" jibe against his predecessor Manmohan Singh, demanding an apology for it.

Raising ths issue during Zero Hour, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Modi's remarks were unbecoming of a Prime Minister and "not good for parliamentary democracy".

Modi on Wednesday said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh knew the "art of bathing wearing a raincoat", and triggered an uproar in the Rajya Sabha.

"A Prime Minister should not use such language against a former Prime Minister," Kharge said.

Nationalist Congress Party member Tariq Anwar and Rashtriya Janata Dal's Jay Prakash Yadav also protested against the Prime Minister's remarks.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar countered them, saying an issue of the Rajya Sabha cannot be raised in the Lok Sabha.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan agreed with Ananth Kumar, saying the issue is related to the Rajya Sabha and it cannot be discussed here.

Not satisfied with it, the Congress members trooped near the Speaker's podium and started shouting slogans against Modi and demanding his apology.

The Speaker urged them not to disturb the house but the Congress members did not relent. Later, they walked out. The NCP and RJD members also joined them.

--IANS

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