A day after the Opposition targeted law minister Salman Khurshid, it was the turn of home minister P. Chidambaram to face the flak over his reported remarks.
The main Opposition Bhartiya Janata Party on Wednesday attacked the home minister for his “heartless comment”, which it felt was a direct attack on the middle-class.
Mr Chidambaram, on the other hand expressed shock and disgust over “deliberate distortion” of his statement in the media about the middle-class attitude towards price rise, saying he did not “mock or chide” anyone. The Congress also came out in Mr Chidambaram’s support and hit back at the BJP by saying it needs to look into its own backyard (Karnataka) where people are suffering because of personal ambitions of ruling party’s leaders. The Congress maintained Mr Chidambaram’s remarks about middle-class and Mr Khurshid’s reported comments about AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi were “quoted out of context”.
“The home minister made a matter-of-fact statement and he did not mock or chide anyone. If the interview is read, it will be seen that he spoke in a matter-of-fact manner,” a statement issued by the home ministry said.
Referring to media reports, in which Mr Chidambaram was quoted as saying that people can spend `20 for an ice-cream cone but protest against a rupee hike in wheat and rice prices, the statement clarified that Mr Chidambaram used the word “we” and did not use the words “why do they make so much noise about price rise”.
“We are prepared to pay `20 for an ice-cream cone but won’t pay `1 more for a kilo of wheat or rice,” the minister was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s statement.
However, the BJP alleged that the home minister had “showered insult and humiliation on the common man” by his “insensitive” comments.
“The most articulate and suave minister of the UPA government, Mr Chidambaram is blaming the media for not understanding his statement. The whole country saw and heard what Chidambaram had said. It is a heartless and insensitive government,” said BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.
He alleged such a comment from the home minister is akin to rubbing salt on the wounds of the common man in whose name the Congress came to power.