Tiger by the tail

Veteran CPIM leader Varkala Radhakrishnan had a rather rough time in the Lok Sabha last week. Known to be a vociferous and unrelenting speaker during parliamentary discussions, Varkala got a taste of his own medicine while officiating from the Speaker8217;s chair when Orissa8217;s BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy decided to take him on while speaking on a discussion on the I038;B Ministry8217;s demand for grants. So, as Satpathy went on and on with his speech, an angered Varkala repeatedly asked him to conclude. Unperturbed, Satpathy not only continued but even went on to say, tongue firmly in cheek, that he treated Varkala as his role model and was merely doing what Varkala did when he spoke from the benches. 8220;Don8217;t be cruel to me, Sir. We respect you,8221; said Satpathy as Varkala finally ordered the microphone switched off. Despite this Satpathy continued with his speech and took his own time before concluding. 8220;We are speaking about the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but some part of my predecessor8217;s speech was not broadcast at all,8221; said Suresh Prabhu, the next speaker in line, as the House burst into laughter.