Pranab apologises to Lok Sabha for losing temper

The usually even-tempered Finance Minister was provoked by Opposition lawmakers.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday apologised to the Lok Sabha for losing his temper when a TDP member made some remarks while protesting the construction of Babhli barrage.

“Madam Speaker,first of all I would like to express my regret and apology because I lost my cool and temper with one of my young colleagues,which I should not have done. But nonetheless,it has happened on the floor of the House. I sincerely apologise to the House,” Mukherjee said.

His apology came soon after TDP leader Namo Nageshwar Rao expressed regrets over heated exchanges in the House as he and his party colleagues stormed the well.

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Rao said Mukherjee was “a very senior leader and therefore whatever has happened,we are sorry”.

Rao expressed regret when the House reassembled after two adjournments on the Babhli issue,one of which occurred after TDP members trooped into the well and had heated arguments with Mukherjee.

The House was shocked when an agitated TDP member N Sivaprasad,questioned as to why his party should stick to rules. Speaker Meira Kumar,as also Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj,tried to pacify the protesting members.

As the House was adjourned by the Speaker,a visibly upset Mukherjee was heard lamenting that some members were bringing disgrace to the House. He was sought to be calmed by Swaraj as also BJP Deputy Leader Gopinath Munde.

Pranab to Oppn: Don’t ridicule my sensitivity

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The usually even-tempered Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was on Wednesday provoked into warning the Opposition lawmakers against ridiculing his sensitivity during a debate on inflation.

“I am from a village… I studied under a kerosene lamp till my 10th class… commuted to school by walking,in today’s terminology,10 km everyday. Don’t ridicule my sensitivity,” said Mukherjee with folded hands when the Opposition members claimed that the Centre was trying to blame the states for price rise.

Born in Mirati village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district,Mukherjee sought to know what according to the Opposition was sensitivity – raising kerosene prices from Rs 2 a litre to Rs 9 per litre (during the NDA regime) or increasing the prices from Rs 9 a litre to Rs 12 per litre?

The UPA government in June raised prices of kerosene by Rs 3 a litre,cooking gas by Rs 35 a cylinder and diesel by Rs a litre,besides freeing petrol prices from government control that made the fuel costlier by Rs 3 a litre.

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Mukherjee was replying to the discussion on the Motion on Inflationary pressure on the economy.

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