JOIN USHours after Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s hate speech at a Delhi Assembly election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned MPs to drop the habit of talking out of turn, which he colloquially termed “addressing the nation”.
The prime minister gave MPs a piece of mind at a BJP parliamentary party meeting attended by all the ministers and MPs. Party sources said Modi told party leaders to avoid “addressing the nation” since it is “unacceptable” to embarrass the government.
The prime minister, however, did not directly refer to Jyoti’s controversial remark. In fact, it did not figure at all during the course of the party meeting in the morning.
Parliamentary business was halted on Tuesday, particularly in the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned for the day as the Opposition demanded that a case should be registration against Jyoti.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap, who later briefed the media on the outcome of the parliamentary party meeting, confirmed that the issue had not been discussed. Rudy was evasive when questioned about whether MPs were advised against making such speeches.
Subsequently, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Rudy spoke to the saffron-clad minister, who apologised in Parliament for her hate speech. Earlier, she had brazened it out despite protest by opposition parties.
Publicly rebuking Jyoti, Rudy said the government was “sad” and “upset” that a Union minister made such a “highly regrettable” comment. He, however, said that she was apologetic to her utterances while addressing a gathering on Monday evening as part of the party’s Assembly poll campaign.
Interestingly, Jyoti appealed to the media by saying that her speech must not be given a communal tinge and said she had done what she could by apologising. “What else can I do,” she asked.