08-23-2005, 12:56 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Uproar in RS over Ramakrishna's depiction as 'mentally deranged' </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes for about ten minutes during the question hour when the Opposition and Treasury benches clashed over <b>reference to a text book which reportedly describes saint Ramakrishna Paramhans as "mentally deranged".</b>
Turmoil erupted when Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh replied to a query posed by BJP member Ravi Shankar Prasad that Ramakrishna Paramhans was described as a "mentally deranged" person in text books.
The Minister said: <b>"This kind of description was made in a book last year and that portion was thereafter deleted."</b>
The BJP members, however, were not satisfied with the answer as they claimed that the Minister was not sensitive to their sentiments while giving the answer.
The Opposition also got provoked when the Congress members thumped their desks when the Minister gave his reply.
<b>The Opposition members, including SS Ahluwalia and Mr Prasad, contended that the Minister had not used the right language while replying on such a sensitive matter and soon their other colleagues joined in the protest.</b>
The treasury benches also reacted sharply and the House then witnessed uproarious scenes for about ten minutes with both sides trading charges.
The agitated BJP members could also be seen walking towards the well of the house despite Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refusing them to raise the issue and stating that nothing would go on record.
However, normalcy was restored only when Mr Shekhawat assured the agitated members that if there was any unparliamentary language used by the Minister, he would get it expunged.Â
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Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes for about ten minutes during the question hour when the Opposition and Treasury benches clashed over <b>reference to a text book which reportedly describes saint Ramakrishna Paramhans as "mentally deranged".</b>
Turmoil erupted when Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh replied to a query posed by BJP member Ravi Shankar Prasad that Ramakrishna Paramhans was described as a "mentally deranged" person in text books.
The Minister said: <b>"This kind of description was made in a book last year and that portion was thereafter deleted."</b>
The BJP members, however, were not satisfied with the answer as they claimed that the Minister was not sensitive to their sentiments while giving the answer.
The Opposition also got provoked when the Congress members thumped their desks when the Minister gave his reply.
<b>The Opposition members, including SS Ahluwalia and Mr Prasad, contended that the Minister had not used the right language while replying on such a sensitive matter and soon their other colleagues joined in the protest.</b>
The treasury benches also reacted sharply and the House then witnessed uproarious scenes for about ten minutes with both sides trading charges.
The agitated BJP members could also be seen walking towards the well of the house despite Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refusing them to raise the issue and stating that nothing would go on record.
However, normalcy was restored only when Mr Shekhawat assured the agitated members that if there was any unparliamentary language used by the Minister, he would get it expunged.Â
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