PM Narendra Modi seeks end to row over minister's remark, logjam continues

New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday told the Lok Sabha that minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has apologised for her abusive remark and the issue be put to rest but the stalemate in parliament persisted with the opposition insisting on a joint resolution condemning her commentsOpposition parties led by the Congress walked out of the Lok Sabha even as the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were paralysed for the fourth consecutive dayLater the opposition parties came out with a statement demanding a joint resolution condemning the attempts to outrage our constitution by making inflammatory speeches aimed at dividing the syncretic sociocultural mosaic of our countrys rich diversityThe current impasse in the Rajya Sabha is the creation of the government it saidCongress vice president Rahul Gandhi and many opposition members also protested outside the Parliament House saying that democratic process was not being allowed inside and pressed for the ministers resignationParliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu meanwhile urged the opposition to allow normal proceedings of the two housesModi made a statement in the Lok Sabha soon after the house met for the day saying he had expressed his unhappiness at Jyotis remarks during a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary party TuesdayBefore the issue was raised in the house when there was a meeting of my party MPs I had sternly instructed against using such language and had expressed my unhappiness he saidIn remarks similar to those made in the Rajya Sabha Thursday Modi said the minister was newNobody can approve such things Later the minister apologised She is a new minister we know her social background she is from a village and she has apologised and it is the duty of senior members in the house that when a member apologises in front of such a big house then we should also be liberalThe prime minister said he was grateful to members of the Lok Sabha that they allowed the house to functionUnlike the Rajya Sabha which has seen repeated adjournments the Lok Sabha has transacted business after protests by opposition members during question hourModi said members should accept maryada dignity of language and speak within that whether they were within the house or outsideHe said senior leaders should request members of their parties to close the issue and move forward with their work in the interest of the countryMeanwhile Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati took objection to Modis appeal that the ministers apology be accepted keeping in mind her background saying it was improper as it meant making allegations against one communityShe said if the minister is incompetent or has made an objectionable statement then she should be removed and another person from that community should replace herJyoti who is minister of state for food processing industries reportedly said at a public meeting here Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki You have to decide if you want a government in Delhi to be led by the children of Lord Ram or illegitimate childrenSoon after Modi spoke in the Lok Sabha opposition members including those from the Congress Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress staged a walkoutThe house continued with its business though the opposition members did not return to the house the entire dayIn the Rajya Sabha disruptions continued over Jyotis remarks for the fourth day leading ultimately to its adjournment for the dayCommunist Party of IndiaMarxist leader CPIM Sitaram Yechury urged Chairman M Hamid Ansari to allow passage of the resolution Congress also made similar demandNaidu made an appeal in the Lok Sabha to the opposition members to return to the house and take part in the discussionsHe said the opposition should join discussions to meet expectations of peopleTalking to reporters outside the Parliament House he said the opposition protest will boomerangHe also said that Jyoti will campaign for the BJP as and when required and dismissed suggestions that she was being pulled out over her controversial remark