New Delhi: Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was today forced by a united opposition in Parliament to apologize for her controversial hate speech that parlaysed the Rajya Sabha in the wake of demands for her sacking.
The opposition was not satisified with her regret and even demanded that a criminal case be registered for her remarks at a public meeting here last night asking voters to elect sons of Rama and not “illegitimate sons.”
Both the Houses of Parliament were rocked by the opposition uproar over the comments which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also disapproved at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also Leader of the Rajya Sabha, disapproved of Jyoti's remarks saying they were “improper and unacceptable”.
He, however, said the House cannot decide whether her action was criminal in nature and it should be left for the agencies outside the House. “If she has committed a crime, law will take its course”, he said.
Under all round attack, Jyoti said in both the Houses that “if certain words spoken by me outside the House have hurt someone, I take back my words and offer regrets. However, if the House feels so, I am also ready to seek an apology.”
“My intention was not to hurt anyone. If my speech outside the House has hurt anyone, I express my deep regrets and accept...”
However, Opposition members stormed into the Well demanding her sacking. “A mere apology will not suffice. She will have to resign,” was their refrain.
After repeated adjournments, the business in the Rajya Sabha was called off for the day after lunch because of the uproard.
Soon after both the Houses met for the day, opposition members created uproar over Jyoti's remarks and demanded an apology from Modi.
Members of Congress, TMC, SP and other opposition parties rushed to the well leading to repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha during pre-lunch sitting.
When Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 PM after four adjournments, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury cited a Supreme Court as well as a Calcutta High Court order to drive home the point that mere apology was not enough and an FIR should be filed against her and she should be sacked.
Yechury's argument drew instant support from TMC, Congress, SP, JD-U and Left parties.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu later rejected the demands for her resignation and said the issue was closed after her regrets.
He also attacked the opposition parties of raking up political issues and wasting the time of Parliament.
With repeated pleas of Kurien to bring order in the House going unheeded, he adjourned the House for 10 minutes—the fifth adjournment since morning.
As the tempers ran high when it reassembled, he adjourned it for the day.
Congress had given adjournment notices in both Houses on the issue, but they were rejected.
Prime Minister Modi disapproved of the controversial remarks by Jyoti, saying such comments were “not acceptable” and asked party MPs to refrain from those that gave a bad name to the government and the party.
Sources said the Prime Minister, while addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party, told the MPs to be cautious while making public comments and asked them not to give any “address to the nation.”
The Prime Minister did not name anyone but later conveyed to the minister concerned that she should express regrets for her remarks.
Congress questioned the “culpable silence” of the Prime Minister on the sadhvi's controversial remarks and suspected a political motive behind her utterances ahead of Delhi assembly polls.
“What is Narendra Modi's stand on this? Why has he not condemned it so far? Before this, Giriraj Singh had also said such things and he was made a minister. Why is he (Modi) quiet? The issue is not only these two.
“The issue is the culpable silence of the Prime Minister within and outside Parliament on it,” party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.
