An MP from Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mahua Moitra backed Congress’ interim president Sonia Gandhi who had a heated exchange with Union minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Moitra said that the 75-year-old leader was “encircled and heckled pack-wolf style.”
In a tweet, Moitra said, “Was in Lok Sabha when 75-year-old lady senior leader encircled & heckled pack-wolf style when all she did was walk over & speak (masked) to another senior lady panel chairperson. Disgusted to read BJP lies and false version in press,” Moitra said. When the Lok Sabha adjourned nearly at 12 noon, Sonia Gandhi walked up to the Treasury Bench and sought to know from a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rama Devi the reasons for dragging her name into the issue. According to reports, the BJP demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi for the party MP’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s statement referring to President Droupadi Murmo as “Rashtrapatni.”
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When the Congress president was talking to Rama Devi, Irani came in and began to argue with her referring to Chowdhury’s statement. Initially, Sonia Gandhi ignored Irani, but when the situation went out of control, she, too, locked horns with the Union Minister. As the BJP members flocked around Rama Devi and Sonia Gandhi, NCP member Supriya Sule and TMC member Aparupa Poddar escorted Sonia Gandhi and Rama Devi. In the aftermath of the incident, the Congress has slammed the BJP members for subjecting their president to “brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation,” and sought an apology from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
