The JD(U) leader, Sharad Yadav’s speech on the Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha on Saturday held the House in thrall with members, including those from the Treasury benches, egging him on.
No remark perhaps better reflected the mood of the House at the derisive comments that have been directed at MPs in recent days than this by Yadav: “Hum sansad ki maryada mein hain toh aapko bhi maryada mein rehna chahiye (We are maintaining decorum as per parliamentary norms, you, too, should maintain decorum.”
By the time Yadav ended his almost hour-long speech he seemed to have won the approval of all members who not only greeted its conclusion with thumping applause but many even rushed to congratulate him, including Lal Singh, Raj Babbar, Pradeep Jain and Deepinder Singh Hooda.
Incidentally, during Saturday’s discussion, there were frequent voices saying 'media' in the context of its inclusion within the ambit of the Lokpal.
Lashing out at Kiran Bedi, for mocking politicians on Friday and the manner in which she enacted the “drama” of ridiculing them, Yadav said: “She was saying that politicians look from here to there. She spent her life in the police force. We have spent our entire lives on the roads. What politics will she teach us?"
Slamming Bedi for the manner in which she draped a piece of cloth around her head on Friday on the stage at the Ramlila Maidan and then proceeded with her “drama”, Yadav warned her: “Ghunghat-dupatta dal kar hamara mazaak mat banaiye, hum aapka mazak udane khade ho gaye toh phir hamare paas toh zyaada zubaan hai (Don’t mock us. If we start doing the same, then we have a greater vocabulary).”
And to the well-known anchor of a TV channel attempting to hog the limelight as a “Bengali moshai (Bengali gentleman)” he added: Just close down. You’re lecturing the entire country but your knowledge is not letting us sleep. You’re screaming at 12 and you’re screaming at 1.”