Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'raincoat' barb directed towards his predecessor Dr. Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha, an outraged Congress has threatened to boycott the former in both the Houses of the Parliament until he tenders an apology.
According to sources, Congress has warned of boycotting the Prime Minister for the rest of the Budget Session (April 12th) until he apologises for his comment on Dr. Manmohan Singh.
After his 'earthquake' jibe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the House, the Prime Minister today earned the wrath of the grand old party by training guns at Manmohan during the Parliament session.
"Dr. Manhmohan has played a significant role in the economic system of India. But during the most corrupt regime in the nation, there was not a single corruption charge against him. This art of taking bath wearing a raincoat must be learnt from Manmohan Singh," the Prime Minister said, setting off cries of outrage by the Congress.
Immediately the Congress MPs staged a walkout, to which the Prime Minister responded saying that if the Opposition breaches decorum, then they should also have the courage to listen to the response.
Outside the Parliament, Manmohan maintained his trademark calm and simply chose not to respond to questions over the Prime Minister's statement.
Yesterday also Prime Minister Modi had trained his guns against the Congress during the Parliament session, by taking a swipe at party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on his 'earthquakes remark', by saying that "the earthquake has finally occurred" while referring to February 6 night's tremors in Uttarakhand.
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"The earthquake finally occurred. I was wondering how it happened. I had heard of the threat long back," the Prime Minister said in the Lok Sabha.
Reacting to fresh statement in the House today, the Congress launched a direct attack and said the former's address resembled to that of a 'local chieftain' full of 'vitriol and hatred'.
Congress leader Kapil Sibal told ANI that the Prime Minister should respect the chair where he sits and should respect the sentiments of the house and the Opposition for what it stands for.
"We don't expect the Prime Minister to speak like a local chieftain addressing a local crowd. He is addressing the people of this country through Parliament..... You (PM) cannot denigrate individuals in this fashion. The arrogance that he displayed, the manner in which he has attacked Dr. Manmohan Singh, it is not right for us to sit and listen to a speech that is full of vitriol and full of hatred. And I don't think that the Prime Minister should reflect that," he said.
Further attacking the Prime Minister, Sibal said he had never seen a Prime Minister speaking the language Modi speaks, who 'seeks to denigrate everybody in the House'.
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