Mallikarjun Kharge loses cool at BJP MP in Rajya Sabha: ‘Your father was with me’

Rajya Sabha witnessed heated moments on Monday when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge lost his cool and lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Neeraj Shekhar for interrupting during his speech. Kharge was participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha.

The altercation began when the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, while criticising the government’s handling of various issues, mentioned the rate of inflation under the Narendra Modi government after dollar crossed Rs 87.

“In 2013, Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had said the rupee was in the ICU [Intensive Care Unit] when it was around 60 to a dollar. Now, the dollar has crossed Rs 87,” he said.

While Kharge was speaking, Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, interrupted him. This interruption provoked an angry response from Kharge, who retorted, “Your father also was with me here. What are you talking about? Sit down!. (Tera baap bhi idhar mere sath tha. Tu kya baat karta hail. Chup baith.)”

The exchange caused a commotion among the members of the House and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged restraint.

Kharge’s outburst at Shekhar has gone viral on social media, drawing sharp reactions from BJP members. The video does not show Shekhar, but the Chairman can be heard calling his name while asking him to sit down.

‘THOUSANDS KILLED IN STAMPEDE’

Further, Kharge triggered an uproar as he alleged that “thousands of people lost their lives during the stampede and the government should declare the actual number of dead”.

He paid tributes to “thousands” and when Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked him to retract the statement, the Congress chief was quick to clarify.

He said, “this is my estimate (and) if this is not right you (the government) should tell what is the truth”. He said he was ready to be corrected.

“I did not say ‘thousands’ to blame anyone. But how many people died, give that information at least. I will apologise if I am wrong. They should give figures how many died, how many are missing,” he said.