Protesting Congress MPs don't have national interest: Speaker

NEW DELHI: Congress members, carrying out noisy protests demanding Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's resignation over alleged irregularities in Delhi cricket body DDCA, today came in for a sharp rebuke from Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who said they do not have any national interest but only vested interest.

Members of Congress entered the Well raising slogans soon after the House assembled and Mahajan rejected nearly ten notices seeking adjournment of the Question Hour.

"Unka koi national interest nahi hai... unka vested interest hi hai (They don't have any national interest, they only have vested interest)," Mahajan said, adding that the Congress members only wanted to disrupt the proceedings.

Her remarks came in response to a plea by BJD's Baijayant Panda who said the Congress members should stop protesting in the national interest as he was raising an important question about security.

In the Well, around 20 Congress members shouted slogans against the Finance Minister and, at times, they also indulged in clapping in a bid to drown the voices of those asking questions and the Ministers replying to them.

A visibly peeved Mahajan told the protesting members that their conduct was not proper. The Speaker also told the Lok Sabha Secretariat officials that she wanted all the names of members who were in the Well.

She continued the Question Hour amid the noisy protests.