'You Insulted Charan Singh's Legacy, Won't Tolerate': VP Dhankhar To Congress In RS

‘you insulted charan singh’s legacy, won’t tolerate’: vp dhankhar to congress in rs

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Saturday witnessed a fiery scene as Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge stood to speak on Bharat Ratna awardees saying he and his party respects all the recipients irrespective of political parties, caste, and creed. Earlier, Leader of House Piyush Goyal said that had former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi family, the UPA government would have honoured him with the same.

He said that Kharge should apologise to the country for “insulting” Chaudhary Charan Singh during the last day of first part of the Budget session. He said it is a “moment of pride” that PM Narendra Modi announced Bharat Ratna for Charan Singh, reported news agency ANI.

“It is a moment of pride that PM Modi gave respect to Chaudhary Charan Singh by awarding him the Bharat Ratna…Congress should have been celebrating today that their former PM has been awarded by the Modi government. But unfortunately, he didn’t have Nehru-Gandhi in his surname. If he belonged to the first family it would have worked,” the Union Minister said in his speech.

Responding to this, Congress chief Kharge said the party salutes all those who have worked for the country “irrespective of political parties, caste, and creed.” Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar meanwhile intervened and slammed the opposition benches for “virtually insulting” Chaudhary Charan Singh

“You insulted his legacy. You had no time for Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh. You are hurting every farmer in the country by creating such an environment inside the House on the issue of Chaudhary Charan Singh. Our heads should bow in shame,” the Vice President said.

“I will not tolerate insult to Chaudhary Charan Singh. He stands for impeccable public life, unimpeachable integrity, and commitment to farmers…I have seen with my eyes, ruckus, chaos, condemnation, shouting and sloganeering” he added, quoted ANI.

Earlier, recalling the contributions of Charan Singh, Dhankhar said, “You see, check on any parameter today. He is a symbol of honesty and has been a universally accepted leader of the farmer community, dedicated to the cause of the farmers. Be it the Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, be it the Chief Minister, be it the Prime Minister of the country, be it the Home Minister. He left a mark, the love he had for the farmers and his complete concentration of thoughts in the matter of clear communication in the political field was his big identity.”

Dhankhar said that Charan Singh bravely fought the phase of the Emergency with his principles and never gave in. “His honesty in his work, his dedication towards the poor farmers, this is his identity. No one could come near Chaudhary Saheb,” he said.

Notably, PM Modi on Friday announced Bharat Ratna for former PMs Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao. He also announced the honour for late MS Swaminathan, also known as the father of the green revolution.

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