Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today faced some awkward moments in the Rajya Sabha as he was virtually forced by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to cut short his reply to a debate on agrarian crisis.
Singh's lengthy reply was also a cause of visible exasperation among the members of the Rajya Sabha and it was reflected in a comment by Digvijay Singh of Congress, who said "it was my fault" to seek a discussion on the issue.
The minister was giving elaborate details of the measures taken by the three-year-old Modi government in the agriculture sector and had already spoken for about an hour when Kurien asked him how many more minutes he would take to conclude.
There was no answer to this question from the minister and he continued.
Congress member Jairam Ramesh then quipped, "he (minister) should be asked how many hours he will take."
Kurien then told the minister to conclude in 10 minutes.
However, as the minister appeared to be in no mood to end his speech immediately, a visibly impatient Deputy Chairman asked him again and again.
Kurien remarked that the minister's reply should have finished in 30 minutes but it was already more than an hour.
"Reply should be balanced," the Chair said.
As the minister appeared to pay no heed, an irritated Kurien asked him to end his reply, warning otherwise "I will adjourn the House."
Radha Mohan Singh then said he was trying to explain the work done by his ministry and the government for the farmers.
Digvijay Singh expressed dissatisfaction over the minister's reply, saying he should spell out what the government is going to do to end the farmers' plight rather than speaking about the past.
He then led a walkout of his party members, which was joined by members of some other parties.
After sometime, Digvijay Singh and some others returned to the House and saw the minister still speaking.
"All the farmers of the nation are satisfied with your speech. It was my fault to seek a discussion," the Congress leader commented over which there were roars of laughter.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi then quipped, "The agriculture minister could not even complete half of his statement."
Digvijay Singh challenged him to deliver "a similar kind of speech at Jantar Mantar where some farmers are agitating" and see the outcome.
The five-hour-long debate on "farmers' distress leading to rise in the incidents of their suicide in the country" was initiated by Digvijay Singh yesterday.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)