NEW DELHI: The debate on the Banking Law (Amendment) Bill witnessed ruckus in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday over BJP MP Sambit Patra’s remarks about former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.Patra’s reference to a 1974 incident involving Indira Gandhi during the discussion sparked a war of words between the treasury bench and Opposition, prompting the Speaker to urge the members to not digress from the topic.Protesting the remark, Congress leader KC Venugopal said Indira Gandhi gave her life to protect India’s sovereignty and integrity and she won against Pakistan. He also mentioned former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee hailing Indira Gandhi after the war with Pakistan ended.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman intervened, saying, “We respect Indira Gandhi for her achievements but we equally remember her for emergency.”DMK leader A Raja stood to raise his objection to the mention of the incident, saying it is a violation of rule 94. “Is it within the Bill, does it have any substance…Indira Gandhi is not in the House. You are referring to Indira Gandhi’s name without any reason, baseless allegations, what does it mean,” he said.Patra responded by saying, “We have to be within the ambit of the Bill that is being discussed here…we are discussing the banking system and this case is one of the foundations on which reforms of the banking sector are based.”Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also objected to Opposition members raising slogans against the Chair. “Sambit Patra mentioned an existing case, he did not make up a case which is on record so I want the discussion should centre around the Bill,” he said.Speaker Om Birla said no slogans must be raised against the Chair. He said what Vajpayee said should be entered in report only after confirmation.Earlier, Rijuju and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey took objection to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s speech in which he mentioned businessman Adani. While Rijuju asked Gogoi not to mention a member who is not present in the House, Dubey cited Rule 94 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
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