Members of Parliament express anger over offensive remarks by Baba Ramdev

NEW DELHI: Members of Parliament on Wednesday expressed anger over offensive remarks made by yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Samajwadi Party MP Shailendra Kumar has moved a privilege motion seeking action against people making derogatory remarks against MPs. The MP has initiated the motion without naming Baba Ramdev, who had called MPs "murderers and robbers" at a public function in Durg (Chhattisgarh) on Tuesday.

Kumar said such remarks made "openly on public platforms" equal breach of privilege of Parliament because they lower the dignity of the House. "MPs were being openly bad-mouthed by these persons who were calling elected representatives a bunch of thieves, thugs, rapists and murderers," he said.

The yoga guru came under fire from MPs cutting across party lines. RJD leader Lalu Prasad responded by calling the yoga guru "a mental patient."

In June, Baba Ramdev is holding a rally against corruption and to pressure the government to 'recover black money' held by Indians in foreign bank accounts. Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has agreed to share the stage with him.

In February, Ramdev had agreed with Hazare's colleague Arvind Kejriwal who had said that MPs include murderers and dacoits. Sushma Swaraj led a debate in Parliament that saw MPs registering their strong protest against the language used by Kejriwal and another member of his Team Anna, Kiran Bedi.

"There can be objection on the language or words used by Kejriwal but his contention is absolutely right," Ramdev had said then. Kejriwal had said that Parliament was facing a credibility crisis with 162 sitting MPs facing criminal charges. He had also said some MPs were thieves and rapists.