Mahua Moitra, a member of the Trinamool Congress, defended her use of the word, saying that she would never refer to an apple as an orange. On Wednesday, she caused a stir by using “unparliamentary language” in the Lok Sabha.
“I do not know what kind of language I am supposed to use. And I am quite surprised that BJP is today teaching us parliamentary etiquette. I will call an apple an apple, not an orange…,” Mitra said while speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament today.
According to the Trinamool MP, yesterday was a good day for Indian democracy as the nation could see the “extent of the Adani Gate controversy.”
“There should be furore about this because this topic is about Adaniwhich they have tried to shut us up since 2019. Yesterday all of us showed India for the first time what is the Adani gate all about. Now BJP has been trying to shove this under the carpet for the past three years. Yesterday was a ‘shubh din’ (auspicious day) for Indian democracy because the people of the country could see exactly what the BJP was trying to hide. I am glad all Opposition parties together came out. People of India could see the extent of the Adani gate scandal.”
Moitra declared that she would welcome being brought before the privileges committee by the BJP, where she would present her side of the story.
“If you saw my speech and you saw the kind of heckling that gentleman…I would not call him a gentleman…an honourable representative from Delhi did the entire time. I was not even allowed to speak. He heckled me continuously. I asked for protection from the chairperson five time. The chairperson was unable to give me protection. Whatever I said was not on the record,” Moitra said.
The continuing Budget session, which has been repeatedly postponed over the last few days due to the Adani issue, was once more the subject of controversy on Tuesday, but this time it was Moitra’s use of “unparliamentary language” on the House floor.
According to eyewitnesses, Moitra was overheard using unparliamentary language towards BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri after her speech in the Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address when TDP MP K Ram Mohan Naidu was speaking to the House during the Motion of Thanks.
Following this, BJP members of the Lower House stirred up a commotion.
During the Motion of Thanks, Moitra brought up a number of topics, including China, Pegasus, the BBC documentary, the collapse of the Morbi Bridge, Rafale, and the new controversy surrounding the Adani Group of Companies. Moitra remarked that he has tricked the government, which was probably a reference to Adani referring to him as Mr. “A” in the House.
“Prime Minister, this man Mr ‘A’ has fooled (topi pehnaoed) you. He travels with you on your delegations. He meets heads of state on visits to India. He portrays that India is Prime Minister and the Prime Minister is him. He makes it appear to the world that he is the remote control behind the Prime Minister and by obliging him will be obliging the Prime Minister,” she said.
“Everyone is asking who is behind Mahua. Every day, the fake news brigade floats new theories. Is it an American investment bank? Is it Ambani, or is it China? Nobody is behind Mahua. Mahua is behind the truth,” she asserted.
BJP leaders created uproar in the House over her remark and sought an apology from her. Alleging that she was interrupted during her address, the TMC MP said, “I need to repeat it as they are doing this to heckle me and to ruin the flow of the speech…Mahua is only behind the truth.”
The TMC leader attacked the BJP MPs, claiming that they had been trained to “respond hysterically” whenever an opposition MP addresses the House.
On January 24, a report by the US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced, asserting that the Adani Group had weak economic fundamentals and was, among other things, engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud.
The statement claims that the Adani portfolio and the Adani verticals are dedicated to integrating India into the international economy and strengthening the country. The report was referred to as “nothing but a fiction” in the Adani Group’s summary of its lengthy rebuttal.
The revelation sparked a sell-off of all Adani Group firms’ shares. The Adani group, meanwhile, has referred to the report as “nothing but a fiction.” The Budget session will be split into two halves: the first half will run until February 13 and the second part will run from March 13 to April 6.
