Manishankar Aiyar draws BJP's ire in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar.

During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members.

Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later.

As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account.

When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member.

"You had given me the chance to ask a question. I have no desire to listen to his speech. Will you give me chance to speak first? You had called me," Aiyar pleaded.

This led to angry protest by BJP members including Prakash Javadekar, who wanted an apology from Aiyar.

Kurien, who was in the Chair said, "No argument Mani, you are unnecessarily creating a problem...you had yielded earlier" and adjourned the House till 2.30 PM amid uproar.

Earlier, Najma Heptulla (BJP) said, "Interim Budget is the most important part of discussion in this session. You cannot cut down time of the member because state of economy is important."