Mahua Moitra remains defiant on expletive row in Parliament, says called 'an apple, an apple'

Amid a row over her using an expletive inside Parliament, TMC MP Mahua Moitra remained defiant on Wednesday citing past instances of BJP leaders using objectionable words in the House and said she called "an apple, an apple".

Soon after Moitra concluded her speech during the debate on the 'Motion of Thanks to the President's Address' in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, there were angry exchanges between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP members. Moitra was heard using an objectionable word to which the Chair objected and urged members to avoid cuss words.

Asked about the incident, Moitra, without naming anyone, said,"this is a gentleman who called farmers pimps...The minister for urban development Hardeep Singh Puri in Rajya Sabha called Dr Santanu Sen an absolutely offensive term. This is not the first time that on record expletives or harsh words have been used in Parliament." "What makes me laugh is the BJP saying 'ye mahila hokar aise words kaise use kar sakti hain (being a woman, how can she use such words). Do I need to be a man to give it back as good as I get? So I think their patriarchy comes out," Moitra told reporters.

"I have called an apple, an apple and I stand by it," she asserted.

Moitra said the only regret she has is that the Opposition was not aggressive enough to bring up the "Adani scandal" a little earlier in 2021-22.

"I think we should have been as aggressive as this time, so the people of India would not have lost USD 100 billion," she said.

Ramesh Bidhuri, who had a heated exchange with Moitra during and after her speech in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, slammed Moitra, saying people send us to parliament as their representatives and we should function within the decorum of the House.

"People of the world are watching us. Women always maintain dignity... our culture is such. My father used to say that a person acts according to his or her DNA. If you ask a lion to bleat, he will not, he will only roar. If she thinks that her thinking is right then why did Sudip Bandyopadhyay have to apologise," he asked.

Asked about the row, BJP MP Hema Malini said such incidents should not happen in Parliament and all those who speak are respectable and should have control.

"There is no need to be so emotional," she said On Mahua being defiant, the Mathura MP said, "By nature, she must be like that."