Addressing the farewell for outgoing Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in the Rajya Sabha today, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien took a jibe at at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr O’Brien, referring to Mr Naidu, who was also the chairman of the upper house, said the vice president would have tried hard to get the Prime Minister to perhaps answer one question in his full tenure “but that did not happen”.
The TMC MP also reminded Mr Naidu that he was not on the Chair on September 20, 2020, the day the upper house passed the now repealed Farm Bills. Quipping over the same, Mr O’Brien said: “Maybe, someday you will answer that in your autobiography.”
Mr O’Brien, also reminding Mr Naidu of his party’s days in opposition, said the BJP leader had made “passionate speech” on fuel prices .
“On 2nd September 2013, you made a passionate speech on petrol and diesel in the House. One day perhaps you will tell us in your autobiography why then…Let us not go there,” Derek O’Brien said.
Mr O’Brien also recalled how Mr Naidu had in 2013 made an intervention regarding phone-tapping but there was no discussion on Pegasus in the upper house during his tenure as chairman.
“On 1st March 2013, you had made an intervention on phone tapping for 5-6 minutes in the House. We tried Pegasus last few years but we did not get a discussion, Sir,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mr Naidu will demit the office of Vice President. Mr Naidu’s successor Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of office on August 11.
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