BJP seek Adhir's apology for calling Modi infiltrator

Even as Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's recent comment calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “infiltrators” triggered uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Congress leader got into another controversy for calling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as "Nirbala".

“Certainly there is respect for you but sometimes I feel like asking (you) that wouldn't it be more appropriate to call you as 'Nirbala' Sitharaman instead of Nirmala. Because this is your condition. You are a minister but I don't know if you are able to do what you want to,” Choudhury said while speaking in the Lower House.

Earlier in the day, the Congress leader faced a volley of protest by the ruling BJP members in Lok Sabha over his recent comments against Modi and Shah with the ruling BJP members demanding an apology from him.

Raising the issue in the Lower House during the 'Zero Hour', the BJP members condemned Chowdhury for his comment against the Prime Minister and Home Minister, terming his remarks as “an outright insult" to the people who have given “a solid mandate” to Modi.

Leading the attack on the senior Congress MP from West Bengal over his comments against Modi and Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi targeted Sonia Gandhi in a veiled manner for her foreign origin.

“When their party leader is an infiltrator, what would they tell us,” Joshi, who was up on his feet along with other BJP members demanding an apology from Chowdhury, was heard saying, amid an exchange of heated words between the BJP and the Congress members.

Chowdhury, who had hurled the “infiltrators” barb at Modi and Shah on Sunday, while reacting to the proposal for the pan-India implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), sought to explain his remarks in the Lower House and said he would apologise if the BJP is not satisfied with his clarification.

“You are raising the issue without giving any thought. You will have to understand the context under which I said so. My parents came from Bangladesh. We do not have many documents. So if somebody calls (us) an infiltrator, we cannot do much,” he said, urging the BJP members to listen to him.

However, the BJP members continued with their protests pressing for an apology from the Congress leader, prompting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the House.