Gloves off between Centre and Opposition

It may not have been a productive week in Parliament but the gloves are off between the Centre and the Opposition, albeit with a delectable twist.

A day after Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien compared the passage of bills to “making papri chaat”, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the TMC leader could have fish curry if he was allergic to papri chaat but “don’t turn Parliament into fish market”.

“If he’s allergic to ‘chaat-papri’, he can have fish curry. But don’t turn Parliament into fish market. Unfortunately, the manner in which work is being done with conspiracy to malign Parliament’s dignity, was never seen before,” Naqvi said.

He added, “If you malign the dignity of the Parliament, such activities are neither in their interest nor ours. It is not even in the interest of the Parliament traditions.”

O’Brien’s tweet had also riled Prime Minister Narendra Modi who slammed “derogatory” comments being made about parliamentary procedures, without naming anyone.

#MASTERSTROKE #Parliament In the first 10 days, Modi-Shah rushed through and passed 12 Bills at an average time of UNDER SEVEN MINUTES per Bill 😡(See shocking chart👇)

Passing legislation or making papri chaat! pic.twitter.com/9plJOr5YbP

— Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) August 2, 2021

The prime minister said his government was committed to the cause of the people and that is one of the reasons he asked all his ministers and MPs to ensure maximum presence in the House and in parliamentary proceedings.

The Opposition has been turning up the heat on the government over the Pegasus snooping row and the farmers’ protest, which has resulted in a complete washout of the Monsoon Session. Both the Houses have seen repeated disruptions and adjournments as the Opposition demanded a discussion on the issues.

Interestingly, O’Brien seemed to be in no mood to relent as he tucked into a plate of ‘papri chaat’ at the TMC office as the prime minister slammed his comments.

With inputs from News18