As a verbal battle broke out between Union Minister Smriti Irani and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, things were tense in the Lok Sabha.
The BJP MPs were reportedly shouting shouts and calling for Sonia Gandhi to resign after the Lok Sabha was postponed at midday due to Congress lawmaker Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s use of the term “rashtrapatni.”
President Droupadi Murmu had previously been referred to as “rashtrapatni” by the Congress leader.
Sonia Gandhi allegedly met BJP leader Rama Devi during the commotion and informed her that Chowdhury had apologised for the comment and had questioned Devi about why her name was being used in the home.
The conversation was then interrupted by Smriti Irani. According to reports, the enraged Congress President then turned around and reportedly yelled, “Don’t talk to me.”
The two or three minutes of tense conversation between the two leaders were intense.
To address the issue, a number of ministers including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, BJP’s Pralhad Joshi, and Arjun Meghwal stepped out.
Geeta Kora and Jyotsna Mahant, both members of Congress, said that Smriti Irani and even a few male BJP MPs had acted inappropriately around Sonia Gandhi.
However, female BJP lawmakers would probably launch a privilege motion against the Congress leader. Leading BJP sources claim that the party would keep calling on Sonia Gandhi to retract the comment.