Award honorarium: Ravi Kishan counters Akhilesh in LS

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that BJP's Ravi Kishan received an honorarium from the Uttar Pradesh government, a claim refuted by the actor-turned-politician.

During the Question Hour, Yadav, also a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said the state government had given an honorarium to various people who were recipients of the Yash Bharati Samman, including Kishan. Kishan, a BJP member from Gorakhpur, was taken aback when his name was mentioned by Yadav but was not allowed to respond by Speaker Om Birla.

Yadav mentioned about the honorarium while asking a supplementary question related to Padma awards. The Speaker said it was also the first time that he was asking a question in the Lower House.

When another question was being discussed, the Speaker called the name of Kishan, who then said that he had never received any honorarium from the Uttar Pradesh government even as Yadav was seen smiling.

Soon after, Birla told Kishan that he had called him for asking a supplementary question. In a lighter vein, the Speaker remarked that he would allow a debate between Yadav and Kishan.