Raghuvansh Singh Apologizes for his Tongue Remark
Patna: April 30, 2007
Amidst growing criticism and protest in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh reluctantly offered his apology for making disparaging remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a few days ago.
As soon as the session in the Parliament opened Monday morning, opposition leaders led by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (U) shouted slogans demanding apology from Singh for a statement he made in Patna during his recent trip in which he said he would 'yank out the tongue' of the Bihar Chief Minister if he accused him of not doing enough for the state.
Singh said he did not mean the tongue phrase in its literal sense. "This was used as an idiom just as people say of making other people bite the dust but if my remarks has offended anyone, then I offer my apology to them," Singh said.
"The central ministry had approved Rs. 1000 crore for developing 980 kilometer of four-way highways in Bihar. When the Bihar government accused us of trying to impose hurdles in the way of development, I got a little carried away and made that tongue remark," the Union Minister tried to douse the controversy with his justification.
The matter was raised in the Lok Sabha by Janata Dal (U) leader Prabhunath Singh who said either the RJD leader offer an apology to Nitish Kumar or the Prime Minister remove him from the Cabinet.
House Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, agreeing with the accusations, said the Union Ministers should refrain from making such statements. "Nitish Kumar is a very honorable leader and these statements deeply hurt relationship between a state and Union minister," he said.
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