Congress, Trinamool stage walkout in Lok Sabha

“We saw shocking behaviour when ruling party members, including ministers, were encouraging him”, he said.

Congress members, along with those of Trinamool Congress, walked out to boycott the House for the day after failing to extract an apology from Virendra Singh even after Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said any personal remarks are “condemned”.

Parliament is expected to witness another day of uproar today with Congress likely to continue its agitation in both Houses.

Mr Rudy said the issue was just an excuse for Congress to disrupt the House.

Congress MPs had stormed the well when the Speaker did not allow Kharge to raise the matter before question hour and began raising slogans and displayed placards.

As Trinamool’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the House would run smoothly if the Bharatiya Janata Party member apologised, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked if he could guarantee this.

Singh, 59, a third-time MP who calls himself an agriculturist, social worker and sportsperson, stood by his remarks and said farmers never apologise.

Soon after, however, several Congress members trooped into the well of the House shouting anti-government slogans like “Modi teri tanashahi nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (Modi’s dictatorship will not be tolerated)” and “Hitlershahi nahi chalegi (Hitler-like attitude will not be tolerated)”. “He should tender an apology or you should suspend him”, he said.

Mr Singh, member from Bhadoi in Uttar Pradesh, had made the remarks in the House on Wednesday while participating in a discussion on drought situation. The Speaker told the members on Thursday that she had expunged the objectionable part of Virendra Singh’s remarks.

Asked whether he would apologise for his remarks, he said, “Question does not arise”. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Parliament is having less discussion and more expenses these days. She also warned Congress against dragging the issue, saying they may also have to seek an apology for throwing papers at the Deputy Speaker. He said the member was standing by his comments. She noted that papers were thrown at the chair on Wednesday.

The BJD member urged the government to ensure that no bill was passed amid din in the house. Please let us allow Parliament to function. However, the Speaker carried on with the business of the House.