Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed a war of words between the leader of the House Piyush Goyal and leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge after the latter took a dig at the Centre over the G20 logo under India’s Presidency. Discussing India’s parliamentary journey of 75 years during the special session convened by the Centre, the Congress President emphasised the need to control inflation and unemployment rate, claiming that democracy will come under threat otherwise. The Monday Parliament session was the last to be held in the old building.
Requesting the Centre to provide answers to the challenge India is currently facing, Kharge said, “The democracy will be destroyed if inflation isn't controlled in time and unemployment continues to rise.”
Mocking the G20 logo, Kharge said touting the ‘G2’ is all right as he inquired about the correct term for the 20-member bloc comprising developed and developing nations.
“(It’s) G20 sir,” responded Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
To this, Kharge replied he confused zero in G20 with lotus, referring to the logo. “No, because the zero looked like a lotus,” he said as Opposition leaders burst into laughter.
Union minister Piyush Goyal rejected Kharge's remark urging him not to “make fun of G20.”
“But the leader of the opposition, who is also Congress president, only sees 2G, one ji and son ji...,” said Goyal in a veiled reference to Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
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The remark irked Kharge who said “When it comes to the nation, we are all united...but don't think that you are the only patriots."
"Patriot hamare log hain, jaan hamare log diye, mar gaye hamare log, maza aap utha rahe ho aur humko seekhate ho? (our people are patriots, they sacrificed their lives…our people died…you are reaping the fruits and teaching us?”
Kharge also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a poetic way saying, “kuch kar nahi sakte to kursi chor do, baat baat par darane se kya hota hai” (If you can't do anything, leave your chair. What will happen by scaring people).
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