‘PM disappears during key issues’: Sitharaman, Gogoi clash in Parliament

Sitharaman fires back

Sitharaman countered Gogoi’s statements, calling them “profound” and pointing out that the PM had often been prevented from speaking in the House. “It was music to my ears to hear a leading member of the opposition say that he respects the PM, only to add quickly that when the Treasury talks about previous prime ministers, it is not in a respectful language,” she said. She then questioned whether Gogoi would apologise for past instances where the opposition allegedly abused Modi.

She criticised the opposition for disrupting House proceedings in the past, preventing Modi from addressing Parliament. “They stood in the Well and shouted. Will the honourable member Gogoi apologise for the number of times they have abused the PM? Today, he is whitewashing all that. That is not allowed. He should have the grace to admit that they have abused the PM, it was wrong, and they would not do it again,” she said.

Opposition strikes back

In response, Gogoi hit back at Sitharaman and urged her to refer to PM Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha last month, claiming it was full of derogatory remarks about former prime ministers. “His entire speech was abusive of former prime ministers. Before pointing fingers, look within, introspect,” he said.

Amid the heated debate, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey cited parliamentary rules, arguing that Gogoi’s speech was not relevant to the supplementary demands for grants under discussion. Dubey also had a tense exchange with opposition members, asserting that he would not be shouted down.

Speaker’s intervention

The Speaker advised Gogoi to stay on topic and focus on the listed discussions rather than diverging into unrelated matters. Gogoi, however, defended his speech, maintaining that he was discussing the Manipur budget and questioning why it was not presented in the state assembly.

(With PTI inputs)