Addressing the farewell for outgoing Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in the Rajya Sabha today, Trinamool Congress MP Derek OโBrien took a jibe at at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr OโBrien, 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 โbut that did not happenโ.
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MP also reminded Mr Naidu that he was not on the Chair on September 20, 2020, the day the upper house passed the now repealed Farm Bills.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 OโBrien said: โMaybe, someday you will answer that in your autobiography.โ
Mr OโBrien, also reminding Mr Naidu of his partyโs days in opposition, said the BJP leader had made โpassionate speechโ on fuel prices .
โOn 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 thenโฆLet us not go there,โ Derek OโBrien said.
Mr OโBrien 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.
โOn 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,โ he said.
On Wednesday, Mr Naidu will demit the office of Vice President. Mr Naiduโs successor Jagdeep Dhankhar will take the oath of office on August 11.
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