Adhir Ranjan stokes controversy with his 'naali' remark, apologises

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stoked a controversy on Monday with his "naali" (drain) remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha, with the BJP launching a scathing attack on him and his party, saying this "arrogance" will finish them.

Later, Chowdhury, the Congress leader in the LS, clarified that his intention was not to insult the Prime Minister and he regrets if Modi was hurt by his comment.

Speaking during the debate in the Lok Sabha on the 'Motion of Thanks' to the President's address, Chowdhury said he made the "naali" comment in response to some BJP leader's comparison of Modi with Swami Vivekananda which provoked and angered him.

However, Chowdhury had made the remark soon after BJP minister Prahlad Joshi had said that at least BJP members don't say "India is Indira and Indira is India".

Chowdhury's "nalli" remarks were later expunged by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, but BJP working president J P Nadda reacted strongly to these remarks, saying they were in "bad taste and highly condemnable".

Taking to the Twitter to condemn the Congress leader's remarks, Nadda said,"the Congress is consistently insulting the Prime Minister who has been elected by 125 crore people. The people of the country are giving their reply to Congress in every election. Their arrogance will finish them."
He said he was trying to say that there was no comparison between "Ma Ganga" with a 'naali' (channel)."