Kharge says, “You defend the PM a lot” to Dhankhar
Mallikarjun Kharge is the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, On Thursday, he and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar went at each other over Dhankhar’s refusal to tell the Prime Minister to come to the House to talk about Manipur.
The Government and the Opposition agreed to meet and talk about the violence in Manipur. Dhankhar said that he will call the floor leaders of the parties to his chambers at 1 p.m. and “have a discussion about Manipur, regardless of time or other constraints.”
Kharge then suggested that the House stop meeting until 1 p.m. He then said, “Sir, you don’t agree to such small requests. We asked for the Prime Minister to come, but you said no to that, too. You are so quick to defend the PM… I don’t get it.”
In response to Kharge, Dhankhar said, “It’s not my job to defend our Prime Minister. He is now known around the world. In the US, the Senate, and Congress… Every Indian should be happy… Why don’t you face the harsh truth that India is rising like never before? The rise can’t be stopped because everyone has helped it happen. I don’t have to stand up for anyone.”
After thirty years of coalition government led by the PM, it is not necessary for me to defend anyone. It’s my responsibility to defend the Constitution, Dhankhar said.
He also said that this kind of observation from LoP was “not very good.” “Where do we want to go? You have the right to have an opinion on politics. I don’t have a stake in politics. I don’t care about how parties do their business. I care about how the country is run, and I care about how the country grows,” the Chairman said.
Earlier, the two of them shot at each other. Kharge said that the Chairman might not have agreed to the Opposition’s request for a discussion under rule 267 because he was “angry.”
Dhankhar thought this was a joke, so he laughed and said, “Sir, I’ve been married for more than 45 years. I’m never angry. As a senior lawyer, Mr. Chidambaram will know that we have no right to show anger, at least to someone in charge. You know a lot, sir. Please change this.”
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Kharge made a joke that made everyone in the House laugh. He said, “You don’t show anger, but you’re angry on the inside.”
On Wednesday, Dhankhar told the Opposition that he could not and would not order PM Narendra Modi to be in the House because it was the PM’s right, just like any other MP’s, to come to the House.