The usually even-tempered Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was on Wednesday provoked into warning the Opposition lawmakers against ridiculing his sensitivity during a debate on inflation.
"I am from a village... I studied under a kerosene lamp till my 10th class... commuted to school by walking, in today's terminology, 10 km everyday. Don't ridicule my sensitivity," said Mukherjee with folded hands when the Opposition members claimed that the Centre was trying to blame the states for price rise.
But for Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Pranab would not have reconciled to stay put.
Pranab lost his cool twice in the Lok Sabha.
First when he threatened to quit as leader of House after a young Telugu Desam Party MP passed remarks at him even as his party and the Shiv Sena were engaged in a verbal duel at the well of the House over the disputed Babhali barrage in Maharashtra on the Godavari river.
While the commotion was on, Pranab stated that the House was being put to ransom and asked the TDP members at top of his voice to go back to their seats and allow the House to function.
TDP's Chittoor member Sivaprasad Naramalli then shouted back at the finance minister: "Yes that is the rule. You go back to seat."
Pranab, threatening to resign as the leader of the House, was pacified by Sushma Swaraj who quickly left her seat and rushed to persuade him to cool down.
Speaker Meira Kumar quickly adjourned the House. Pranab apologised to the House when it re-assembled.
"Madam Speaker, first of all I would like to express my regret and apology because I lost my cool and temper with one of my young colleagues, which I should not have done. But nonetheless, it has happened on the floor of the House. I sincerely apologise to the House," Mukherjee said.
His apology came soon after TDP leader Namo Nageshwar Rao expressed regrets over heated exchanges in the House as he and his party colleagues stormed the well.
On the second occasion, the finance minister was ticked off after he was provoked by CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharia, who intervened abruptly during the former's answer to the debate on price rise.
Pranab was replying to the daylong debate on price rise on Tuesday when Acharia tried to intervene to make a query. The CPI-M leader persisted despite Pranab refused to yield to his request. An irritated Pranab just sat down, saying: "I am completing my answer
I will not answer further."
The finance minister, however, resumed reply after the Speaker brought House to order.
With agency inputs
