New Delhi: The Lok Sabha today witnessed a running spat between Trinamool member Saugata Roy and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy with both questioning each other on different occasions.
Matters worsened when Mr Roy talked about "Bellary loot", apparently referring to the alleged plundering of mines during the previous Karnataka government run by the BJP, inviting sharp reaction from Mr Rudy who questioned as to how the TMC member can make such a statement.
During discussion on the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, Mr Roy even named a former BJP minister for his role in the exploitation of mines.
Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai said he can take names only after giving a prior notice. At this, Mr Roy said he was ready to withdraw it.
Earlier, Mr Roy raised the issue of his name being mentioned by Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP) during debate on amendments to the Citizenship Act.
Mr Jaiswal, while rebutting the points raised by Mr Roy, said a "Chief Minister's companions" are arrested.
Mr Roy, who was not present at the time in the House, said Mr Jaiswal had made reference to the points raised by him during the debate and he wanted to respond to them.
"I have a point of personal explanation...When I made the reference, I did not mention which ruling party president was arrested earlier... I have not mentioned which ruling party Chief Minister was arrested earlier... I have not mentioned how president of the ruling party was let out by CBI in case of rioting and murder," he said.
He demanded that all references made by Mr Jaiswal about him should be deleted.
This evoked strong response from Mr Rudy who said Mr Roy could not raise the issue as he (Roy) was not present in the House when Mr Jaiswal spoke. He sought a ruling from the Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai.
Mr Thambidurai ruled that as a member of the House, Mr Roy could go through the records and give a notice seeking to raise the issue.