Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on Wednesday took a jibe at Congress, saying after Mahatma Gandhi, many Gandhis came but they did nothing for the country, triggering disapproval from Congress members.
"The member seems to have become emotional for Mahatma Gandhi...after that many Gandhis came but they did nothing," he said replying supplementation in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour.
Angadi's comment drew flak from the Congress members who strongly protested his jibe as unnecessary. The House witnessed ruckus for a while and the proceedings became normal after Speaker Om Birla's intervention.
Interestingly, the jibe came soon after the Speaker lauded Angadi for his to-the-point and short replies.
"If Ministers' replies would be the way he (Angadi) gave, we can take the maximum number of questions in Question Hour," Birla remarked.
Angadi again took a jibe at the Congress while responding to a query by DMK's Daydhi Maran who sought to address the cleanliness issues at Chennai railway station.
To this, he said, "After Mahatma Gandhi, did any leader talked about cleanliness and station."
At one point, Angadi response to a question by NCP's Supriya Sule left her looking unsatisfied and she expressed it in her supplementary.
Senior Railway Minister Piyush Goyal rose to clarify it but the Speaker suggested: "Answers should be either given by the Minister or Minister of State."
Later, the Speaker also urged the floor leaders of the parties to give opportunities to the newly-elected members to ask supplementaries during Question Hour.
His suggestion came after Trinamool's Sudip Bandopadhyay rose to ask a supplementary. But he did not heed and continued with his supplementary.
"At least 465 members have not got the opportunity to ask supplementaries. I would request the senior leaders to provide opportunities to the new members," Birla said.
( With inputs from ANI )