Kalyan Banerjee unfazed over govt's censure motion threat

Refuses to apologise for his comments against Modi, says remarks made outside Parliament don't attract such action

Under fire for his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee remained unfazed over the government's threat to bring a censure motion against him as he claimed that anything spoken outside Parliament does not attract such an action.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament here today, Banerjee said he would not apologise for any of his comments as he had delivered a political speech and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Let them bring it (censure motion), then I will see to this. Because any speech made outside the House... One is not delivering a speech as a Member of Parliament.

"As a member of a political party any speech outside the House, being a member doesn't attract any censure motion. It is only restricted to council of ministers," he claimed.

On BJP's demand for an apology, the TMC leader said, "I have not said anything wrong, then why should I (apologise)? 'Janata bhejenge'....What does it mean? That people's verdict will send him to Gandhi Nagar. So what is wrong in it? It is a political speech. And 'Janata ka slap' means verdict of the people."

He said the statement should be understood in the context in which it has been said.

Banerjee was today under fire from BJP and Left in Lok Sabha for his alleged objectionable remarks against Modi and also against late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri at a meeting in West Bengal, leading to uproar and threat of censure motion being moved against him if he did not apologise.

Claiming that he never spoke anything against Shastri, he said, "I have not said anything about former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. What I have said is about his grandson.