Anurag Thakur Slams Oppn For Ruckus In Parliament, Demands Apology For 'Insulting President'

Union Minister Anurag Thakur accused the opposition parties of insulting the President and asked them to apologise for their attitude towards President's speech.

New Delhi: Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday lashed out at the opposition parties for creating a ruckus in the Parliament during the ongoing Budget session. He also accused them of 'insulting' the President and asked the opposition parties to apologise.

"Opposition insults President again and again. Their attitude is unfortunate. Their reaction to President's address is condemnable, they should apologise. When they saw Budget has something for all sections, that it is transparent and inclusive, they became speechless, the minister said, as quoted by ANI.

He further said, "Instead of discussing the Budget, they are making noises. Bank, LIC, RBI, and Finance Minister have all spoken on their allegations. Why is the Opposition running away from the discussion? We have nothing to hide."

The response came a day after both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till Monday after Opposition MPs continued to protest on the House floors over the allegations against the Adani Group. The opposition parties demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored committee investigation into the Adani issue while also seeking a discussion on it in the Parliament.

At least 16 Opposition parties met on Friday morning to decide on their collective strategy to step up their attack on the Modi government, demanding an immediate discussion on the issue of the Adani stock rout. Among the 16 parties whose leaders met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge include the Congress, DMK, SP, AAP, BRS, Shiv Sena, RJD, JDU, CPIM, CPI, NCP, NC, IUML, Kerala Congress (Jose Mani), KC (Thomas), and the RSP.

The previous day the parties unitedly led the charge against the Centre over the issue and stalled both houses of Parliament. On Friday, leaders of several opposition parties continued to submit adjournment notices in both houses of Parliament demanding an immediate discussion on the Adani Group issue as well as the border situation with China.

While Kharge made the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation or a Supreme Court-monitored probe, a section of the leaders also favoured an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). "Different parties will express their views on the floor of both Houses about what the mode of inquiry should be conducted to expose and unravel this scam," said Derek O'Brien, the TMC's Parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, as quoted by PTI.