“I will call an apple an apple, not an orange…,” Mahua Moitra defends her ‘unparliamentary language’ in Parliament

“I do not know what kind of language I am supposed to use. And I am quite surprised that BJP is today teaching us parliamentary etiquette. I will call an apple an apple, not an orange…,” Mitra said while speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament today.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra who sparked a furore by using “unparliamentary language” in Lok Sabha on Wednesday defended her usage of the word stating that she will call an apple an apple and not an orange.

“I do not know what kind of language I am supposed to use. And I am quite surprised that BJP is today teaching us parliamentary etiquette. I will call an apple an apple, not an orange…,” Mitra said while speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament today.

The Trinamool MP said that yesterday was an auspicious day for Indian democracy as the country could see the “extent of Adgate scandal”.

“There should be furore about this because this topic is about Adaniwhich they have tried to shut us up since 2019. Yesterday all of us showed India for the first time what is the Adani gate all about. Now BJP has been trying to shove this under the carpet for the past three years. Yesterday was a ‘shubh din’ (auspicious day) for Indian democracy because the people of the country could see exactly what the BJP was trying to hide. I am glad all Opposition parties together came out. People of India could see the extent of the Adani gate scandal.”

Moitra said if the ruling BJP will take her to the privileges committee, she will welcome it and will put her side of the story.

“If you saw my speech and you saw the kind of heckling that gentleman…I would not call him a gentleman…an honourable representative from Delhi did the entire time. I was not even allowed to speak. He heckled me continuously. I asked for protection from the chairperson five time. The chairperson was unable to give me protection. Whatever I said was not on the record,” Moitra said.

The ongoing Budget session which has been facing repeated adjournments continuously for the last few days over the Adani issue, again witnessed a ruckus on Tuesday but on Moitra’s usage of “unparliamentary language” on the floor of the House.

After her address in Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address when TDP MP K Ram Mohan Naidu was addressing the House during the Motion of Thanks, Moitra was heard using some unparliamentary language against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri as per the eyewitnesses.

Following this BJP MPs started a ruckus in the Lower House.

While participating in the Motion of Thanks, Moitra raised several issues, including China, Pegasus, BBC documentary, the Morbi bridge collapse, Rafale and the recent row over the Adani group of companies.

In an apparent reference to Adani describing him as Mr ‘A’ in the House, Moitra said that he has fooled the government.

“Prime Minister, this man Mr ‘A’ has fooled (topi pehnaoed) you. He travels with you on your delegations. He meets heads of state on visits to India. He portrays that India is Prime Minister and the Prime Minister is him. He makes it appear to the world that he is the remote control behind the Prime Minister and by obliging him will be obliging the Prime Minister,” she said.

“Everyone is asking who is behind Mahua. Every day, the fake news brigade floats new theories. Is it an American investment bank? Is it Ambani, or is it China? Nobody is behind Mahua. Mahua is behind the truth,” she asserted.

BJP leaders created uproar in the House over her remark and sought an apology from her. Alleging that she was interrupted during her address, the TMC MP said, “I need to repeat it as they are doing this to heckle me and to ruin the flow of the speech…Mahua is only behind the truth.”

Hitting out at the BJP MPs, the TMC leader said that they are taught to “react hysterically” the moment an Opposition MP addresses the House.

A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. According to the statement, the Adani portfolio and the Adani verticals are focused on bringing India into the global economy and nation-building. In the summary of the long response by Adani Group, it said the report was “nothing but a lie”.

The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.

However, the Adani group had termed the report “nothing but a lie”.

The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6.