By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday apologised for Congress MP Beni Prasad Verma’s derogatory remarks against former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Manmohan Singh, who returned from his Russia visit Tuesday night, said Wednesday that Verma’s comment “was not appropriate”.
“I on behalf of my government apologise to the house for the comment by one of my colleagues,” he said in the Lok Sabha.
The BJP demanded an apology from the government when the house started Wednesday morning.
Verma’s remark against Vajpayee during the debate on Liberhan Commission’s report Tuesday had led to pandemonium in the house with BJP leaders demanding an unconditional apology from Verma.
Though Verma said he regretted the fact that his words had hurt, BJP MPs were not satisfied and did not resume their seats despite requests from the speaker.
Even Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav insisted that Verma apologise as Vajpayee was respected across the political spectrum.
Speaker Meira Kumar said the derogatory expression had been removed from the records and Home Minister P. Chidambaram expressed regret, but the BJP members were not pacified.