Venkaiah Naidu apologises for comments

Naidu, during the debate, called Congress MP Prabha Thakur "bewakoof" (stupid) for interrupting during his speech.

This caused an uproar in the house, forcing a 10-minute adjournment.

Thakur, upset over the comments, broke down in the parliament gallery. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Congress leader Renuka Chowdhary were seen comforting her outside parliament.

Naidu then apologised to the upper house, saying he did not mean to hurt anyone.

The BJP leader said he had always been against using foul language in the house.

His gesture was appreciated by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, who said he had always stressed that MPs should apologise if they used foul language.

 

However, he said, not many do that and appreciated Naidu's apology.

The Rajya Sabha has witnessed a heated debate over FDI in retail.