Agent provocateur

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee is being singled out by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in the Lok Sabha for special treatment. On Sunday, Banerjee spoke rather uncharitably about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP West Bengal in-charge Siddharth Nath Singh at a rally in Kolkata. Banerjee has also been one of the loudest voices in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing winter session in protesting the government's failure to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks. On Monday, Banerjee was consistently subjected to interjections by BJP MPs when he stood up to speak on a Bill being brought to facilitate the repeal of redundant laws. BJP MPs Kirti Azad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and S S Ahluwalia were at the forefront of the attack. A livid Trinamool MP succumbed to the provocation and showered abuses on them, which were expunged by the chair. The BJP MPs said their intention was to make Banerjee realise how unseemly his parliamentary conduct is. "You are getting a taste of your own medicine," Rudy said.