A verbal spat broke out between Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Lok Sabha on Thursday after the opposition which has been protesting over the Manipur issue disrupted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement on foreign engagements.
Goyal lashed out at the opposition members who were dressed in black as a mark of protest, saying they were trying to hide their black deeds behind their attire.
Soon after the House reassembled after earlier adjournment till 2 pm and the Chair allowed Chowdhury to raise a point of order, Goyal stood up and said that he would not allow the Congress leader to speak in protest against the disruption of the external affairs minister’s statement.
As the war of words between the government and the opposition continued and several opposition members also kept on raising slogans over the Manipur, the House was adjourned for 20 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar gave a detailed summary of foreign engagements of the president, vice president and prime minister over the last four months amid loud sloganeering by the opposition.
At one point, the minister was barely audible with ‘INDIA, INDIA’ slogans being raised by members.
Later when the Jan Vishwas Bill came up for consideration, Goyal took a jibe at opposition members wearing black clothes saying they want to hide their black money and black deeds behind their attire.
Without naming AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha who was photographed with a crow hovering over his head in the Parliament complex on Wednesday, Goyal said that in black clothes they have even attracted a crow.
In the morning, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm as opposition members continued with their protests demanding a statement from the prime minister on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur followed by a full-fledged discussion on it.
