Brittas got up and told Sitharaman in a lighter vein that Viswam was “entitled to be agitated as the Finance Minister was repeatedly referring to the sliding CPI!” Sitharaman, along with the entire House, had a hearty laugh. FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to the discussion on Budget, dropped her tough composure when CPI(M) MP John Brittas took a dig at his own Left colleague from Kerala, CPI leader Binoy Viswam. Sitharaman was irritated when Viswam persisted with his interruptions. Brittas got up and told Sitharaman in a lighter vein that Viswam was “entitled to be agitated as the Finance Minister was repeatedly referring to the sliding CPI!” Sitharaman, along with the entire House, had a hearty laugh. The context was that the Finance Minister was talking about the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in response to questions by the Opposition on inflation under the BJP government. Incidentally, CPI(M) has an axe to grind as the CPI recently criticised the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala.
Smooth Running
LOK SABHA Speaker Om Birla is known for giving opportunities to the Opposition to make their voices heard in the House. So when he introduces strict rules, they appear to be accepting it without much complaints. When the Speaker announced that no member would be allowed to stand and talk to another member inside the House for more than five seconds, RSP MP N K Premachandran requested that it should be 10 seconds. And Birla immediately agreed. When Premachandran raised a question on the central government’s AMRUT programme, the Speaker praised both the MP and Union Minister Hardeep Puri, who replied to the question. “Intelligent member and intelligent minister,” the Speaker said. Despite his jovial approach, Birla made it sure that everyone followed his instructions. On Friday, when TMC MP Saugata Roy was seen standing and talking to Independent MP Navneet Kaur for more than 10 seconds, he called out “Saugata Roy”. The TMC MP immediately stopped the conversation, saying sorry to the Chair.
Tweeting Typos
SOCIAL MEDIA on Thursday witnessed what it would have perhaps never imagined: RPI leader Ramdas Athavale correcting Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s English. Tharoor while taking a pot-shot at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s reply to the Budget debate happened to introduce a couple of typos in his tweet that said Athavale had a stunned look on his face during the reply as even the treasury benches couldn’t believe Sitharaman’s claims on the economy. Quoting the tweet, Athavale said, “…they say one is bound to make mistakes while making unnecessary claims and statements. It’s not ‘Bydget’ but BUDGET. Also, not rely but ‘reply’!” Tharoor being Tharoor stuck oneon Athavale in his reply: “I stand corrected, Ramdas ji. Careless typing is a bigger sin than bad English! But while you’re on a roll, there’s someone at JNU who could benefit from your tuition…”
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