Parliament witnessed a rare intervention by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi when the Opposition NDA’s working Chairman L.K. Advani termed the Government as “illegitimate.”
During a discussion on the situation in Assam, the veteran BJP leader said the UPA-II was illegitimate. The UPA Chairperson reacted in protest and demanded that the word “illegitimate” be withdrawn. “The UPA-II is illegitimate. It has never happened in the history of India. Crores of rupees were never spent to get votes,” Advani said during the discussion.
As Sonia Gandhi said “withdraw, withdraw one word, withdraw,” UPA members rose from their seats objecting to the remark. The BJP leader later clarified that he was referring to the 2008 confidence vote for which “crores of rupees were spent” to save the Government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also criticised the remark. “The remark is disgraceful and unfortunate,” he told reporters in Parliament.
The BJP, however, came to the rescue of its senior leader.
“Was the 2G scam a graceful matter? Was the Commonwealth Games scam graceful? Was the mining scam graceful? Let the Prime Minister and the Congress party answer these things first,” party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said.
The adjournment motion on the Assam riots was defeated in the Lok Sabha. A short duration discussion on the issue was taken up in the Rajya Sabha too.