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The central government had deputed Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) immediately after the calamities without waiting for the receipts of memorandum from the affected state governments. (File) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday rejected in the Lok Sabha Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s claim that Shah sat on Rabindranath Tagore’s chair during his visit to Visva Bharati in West Bengal. He also dismissed Chowdhury’s remarks that BJP president J P Nadda had termed Shantiniketan as Tagore’s birthplace.
Appealing to Speaker Om Birla that the Lok Sabha record should be set right, Shah said he was tabling documents to back his statement. “I have a letter from Visva Bharati’s vice chancellor where I have sought clarification from him, and tell me after analysing the photos and videos whether I sat (on Tagore’s chair) there or not.”
“He has very clearly stated that nothing of this sort has happened. The reference to the place I sat is a window and anyone can sit there,” Shah said.
He said “a former president of the country, (another former President) Pranab Mukherjee, (former Prime Minister) Rajiv Gandhi…and even I sat there (window)”.
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“And when Bangladesh’s Prime Minister paid a visit, she also sat at the same place and penned her comments,” Shah said.
He said Opposition members should not rely on social media to make statements on the floor of the house.
“It does not fit the dignity of the house,” he said.
He took a swipe on Chowdhury saying it was natural for the Congress leader to assume such things because there were photographs of former prime ministers and Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru sitting on Tagore’s chair and Rajiv Gandhi having tea sitting on Tagore’s sofa. “So he (Chowdhury) had some misunderstanding,” Shah said.
