Dhankhar crosses swords with Kharge; says India rising like never before under PM Modi's leadership

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday crossed swords with Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge over his criticism that he was defending the Prime Minister "so much", prompting the former to say that he doesn't need to do so and that India is rising as never before and "the rise is unstoppable".

The exchange happened as soon as the House assembled, leading to a walkout by the Opposition after Kharge was not allowed to continue to speak on the demand for adjourning the House till talks between the government and the Opposition called by Dhankhar took place.

The sequence of events started with Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien suggesting that the Opposition was willing to discuss the issue and the logjam was not helping anybody. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal then said they could sit together and iron out the differences to start the debate.

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When Dhankhar sought Kharge's views, the veteran MP said that Rule 267 (suspending business to discuss an issue) should get precedence over any other rule, and wondered why the government has made it a "prestige" issue by not agreeing for a discussion under Rule 267 and suggested that the House be adjourned till 1 pm.

As some ruling BJP MPs objected, Kharge said, "You are not agreeing to even a small suggestion. You are also not agreeing to the demand for calling the prime minister in the House. Why are you defending the prime minister so much? I cannot understand."

This irked Dhankhar who said he was not required to defend anyone and especially the prime minister who has received global recognition and India was rising under his leadership.

"Our prime minister is not required to be defended by me. He has been recognised at the global platform. India is rising as never before and the rise is unstoppable. After three decades of coalition governments in India, you had 2014 and 2019 electoral results," he said.

"I am not required to defend anyone. I am not required to defend the Right. I am not required to defend the Left. I am required to defend the Constitution and your rights. Such a comment by the Leader of Opposition is not wholesome," he said.

As he went ahead with Zero Hour, Kharge announced a walkout with Dhankhar calling it "political optics". He said he thought Kharge "will have a constructive policy, but unfortunately, the Leader of Opposition tried to be political".

In the afternoon session too, Dhankhar did not allow Kharge to raise the Manipur issue, leading to a walkout by the Opposition.