'I Felt Insulted': Mallikarjun Kharge After Mic Turned Off In Rajya Sabha

"I was insulted yesterday when my microphone was turned off," Kharge said in the House.

Mallikarjun Kharge is Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that he was “insulted” on Tuesday during the Rajya Sabha proceedings after his mic was switched off while he was speaking after getting permission from the Chair.

"I was insulted yesterday when my microphone was turned off," Kharge said in the House.

This led to an uproar in the House by the opposition members, with the leaders demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur.

To counter them, treasury bench members also started shouting ‘Modi, Modi’, leading to a din in the House.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar appealed to both Kharge and Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to help restore order in the House, but despite his request, the exchanges continued. As a result, the proceedings were adjourned until noon.

Earlier on Tuesday, Goyal and Kharge had exchanged barbs at each other in the Rajya Sabha over the debate on Manipur, with Kharge demanding the presence of PM Modi and Goyal saying atrocities on women in opposition-ruled states will also be discussed in the House.

The opposition had raised an uproar from the start of the Question Hour when the House met at noon, with members of the Congress and other like-minded parties raising slogans "Manipur, Manipur".

"When so many members are giving notice in the last four days and this is not the first time in this House. Even in 2016 when there was an NDA government, they accepted the demand and discussion happened. Even in Lok Sabha, this was followed when the Congress party was there," Kharge had said.

Goyal countered him by saying Union Home Minister Amit Shah is ready to have a discussion on the issues related to atrocities on women in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and West Bengal, which is also "equally unfortunate". "The home minister is ready for that... he would do 'doodh ka doodh' and 'paani ka paani' (differentiate between truth and lies)," he said.

The Monsoon session, which began on July 20, has so far been marred by continuous disruptions by the opposition over the ethnic violence in Manipur, particularly over a viral video showing two women being paraded naked by a mob in the northeastern state. The video rocked both houses of the Parliament, forcing early adjournments since day one with the Opposition demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the issue.