Number game

Derek O'Brien pointed out that Prasad's speech mentioned PM Modi 13 times on the President's address

On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha took up a discussion on the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. Since the discussion is likely to last a couple of days, the Opposition decided to field its best speakers sparingly — at the rate of two every day for maximum impact. On Thursday, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Derek O’Brien were the speakers. Samajwadi Party’s Neeraj Shekhar turned out to be a surprise. From the government’s side, it was Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. He came in for criticism from O’Brien and Shekhar. O'Brien pointed out that Prasad’s speech mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi 13 times when the discussion was on the President’s address. He said the House had come to expect such speeches from AIADMK members, not others. Shekhar berated Prasad for indulging in eulogy. Meanwhile, O’Brien mentioned his party (Trinamool Congress) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee five times in his speech.