Visibly upset Modi leaves Lok Sabha amid uproar

The opposition protested and asked for the resignation of External Affairs Minister V K Singh

A visibly upset Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as opposition members created a din demanding the sacking of minister V.K. Singh.

After some 40 minutes of uproar, during which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's repeated requests to the protesting MPs to calm down fell on deaf ears, Modi left the house.

The opposition MPs said they wanted Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh out of the government for making "derogatory comments" against Dalits.
 

 

The trouble began soon after the house met for question hour as opposition members assembled near the speaker's chair shouting slogans against the minister.

"V.K. Singh should resign!" they shouted. Mahajan tried to pacify them on one hand and asked the rest of the house to continue with parliamentary business.

Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah looked on from the front rows of the treasury benches.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also tried to pacify the agitated members, saying the minister had already clarified the issue and there was no point stretching it further.

As the question hour got over amid the din, the speaker again requested the opposition to let the house function but the protesting MPs instead walked out.