New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday showed his wit in Parliament when he hurled a ‘Ramayana’ jibe at Congress’s Renuka Chowdhury, who broke out in a loud laughter during his speech on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Mr Modi asked the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu — who not only chided the Congress member for “loose and unruly behaviour” but also advised her to visit a doctor if she has a problem — not to stop her as it was after ages that one had the opportunity to hear “such a laughter” after the serial Ramayana.
Mr Modi’s remarks not only made treasury benches laugh but some opposition members, including from the Congress, were also seen laughing.
It happened when the Prime Minister was mentioning how the Congress claims that the NDA is trying to take credit for Aadhaar. Mr Modi then referred to an old speech of former home minister and BJP veteran leader L K Advani’s reply in 1998 on “multipurpose national identity cards for issuing documents like passports, driving licences etc’ and said the “seed of Aadhaar lies here.” As soon as the PM said the “seed of Aadhaar lies here,” Ms Chowdhury burst into laughter.
Rajya Sabha Chairman, Mr Naidu chided her for “unruly behaviour” and also advised her to visit a doctor if she has a problem, when the Congress member said she could not stop laughing.
However, Mr Modi intervened and requested the Chair not to stop Ms Chowdhury as “after many years after the Ramayana serial we are getting to hear such laughter.”
Talking to media outside the Parliament, Ms Chowdhary slammed the PM for the personal remark. “The PM made a personal remark, what else do you expect from him? I can’t fall to that level to reply to him. This is actually called denigrating the status of a woman,” she remarked.
Reacting to Ms Chowdhary’s remarks against the PM, Information and Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani said “I was present there. I heard the kind of indecent remarks she was making against PM Modi. Is it justified that she makes indecent remarks and when those remarks are met sarcastically, she makes her gender her shield?”
