'Feisty' Manmohan Singh saber-rattles with Jaitley in Parliament

In an unprecedented attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition for disrupting the Parliamentary proceedings,

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday exchanged aggressive remarks with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, and said that he commands a certain respect despite what the members say.

"Have you heard of any country where MPs shout and walk to the well of the House and say 'Prime Minister chor hai' (the PM is a thief). Despite what some members may say, I do command a certain respect in the council of ministers," he told the Rajya Sabha.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, responded sharply, and said: "Have you heard of any democracy where PM won a vote of confidence by buying members of parliament?"

Jaitley, who also lashed out at the explanation of the economic crisis and the depreciating rupee, urged the Prime Minister to decide whether the government will pick prudence or populism, a reference to the massively-expensive food security scheme that was cleared by the Lok Sabha this week.

Jaitley had earlier criticized the Prime Minister's explanation of the economic crisis and the depreciating rupee, stating that Dr Singh's track record as prime minister was of populist policies, not reform.

"If you continue to follow the course, then the legacy that you leave behind will not be the legacy that you left behind as the finance minister. That legacy was different," he said.

Dr. Singh earlier in the day said that the Central Government is taking steps to reduce current account deficit and added that growth will improve in the second half of fiscal year.

"There are concerns and justifiably so on how rupee fall will impact economy, the movement of the rupee recently is a matter of concern to the government," Dr. Singh told the Lok Sabha while making a statement on the current economic situation.