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'I'll call an apple an apple': TMC MP Mahua Moitra stands by her 'offensive' remarks

Moitra had reportedly used an 'unparliamentary word' at BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri

TMC MP Mahua Moitra TMC MP Mahua Moitra | PTI

TMC leader Mahua Moitra has said that she will not apologize for using an "offensive" word against BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri during her address to the Parliament on Tuesday. Moitra told reporters on Wednesday that she stood by her statement,"I’ll call an apple an apple, not an orange."

The BJP on Tuesday had demanded Moitra apologize for making "unparlimentary" remarks against at BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, as per the eyewitnesses. The TMC leader was raking up the Adani issue in the Parliament when the alleged incident happened.

While participating in the debate on the 'Motion of Thanks to the President's Address' in Lok Sabha, Moitra, without naming Adani, said that a famous person whose name starts with 'A' and ends with 'I' and is not Advani, who stinks of crony capitalism, had duped everyone.

Soon after she concluded her speech, there were angry exchanges between TMC and BJP members. Moitra was then heard using certain objectionable words to which the Chair objected and urged members to avoid cuss words. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi asked Moitra to apologise out of morality and said if she does not it would reflect on her culture. 

However, reacting to the ruling party's demand for apology, Moitra said, "I've called an apple, an apple and I stand by it," she told ANI outside the Parliament.

"This is a gentleman who has called farmers 'pimps'. It is on record, I have tweeted the video. The Honourable Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri, in the Rajya Sabha, called Dr Shantanu Sen an absolutely offensive word," she said.

"This is not the first time that expletives or harsh words have been used in parliament, and what makes me laugh is that the BJP is saying 'Yeh mahila hokar kaise yeh word use ki'. Do I need to be a man to give it back as good as it gets?" Ms Moitra said.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Hema Malini too has reacted to Moitra's remarks in Lok Sabha yesterday. "They should control their tongue. They should not get over-excited and emotional. Each and every member of Parliament is a respectable person," said Hema Malini.

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