RJD justifies Somnath's fury over unruly parliamentarians

New Delhi, Feb.20 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday described the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's reprimand of some Members of Parliament over their unruly behavior on Thursday, as justified.

"Somnath Da is the guardian of the House. Speaker is like a guardian. He is pained. He wants that the House runs in proper manner. Members should also react in a guarded manner," said Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Railway minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader while talking to newsmen outside Parliament on Friday.

RJD's vice president and Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said, "The Speaker's anger is justified. He faces difficulty in conducting the affairs in the House due to frequent obstructions and hence it is only natural for him to get angry."

However, former Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairman Najma Heptullah on Friday opposed Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's views on agitating MPs, saying that the Speaker's role is like a referee in a match.

"The Speaker is like a referee to ensure that the match goes on smoothly," Heptullah said.

Addressing mediapersons here, Heptullah said that agitations are part and parcel of democracy and an MP is entitled to agitate.

She recalled her experience of 17 years as vice-chairman of the House and said she had faced worse situations than what happened yesterday, but never said what Chatterjee had said.

Chatterjee said on Thursday that MPs did not deserve even one paisa of public money for their kind of protests in the House. (ANI)