'Will not tolerate insult to Chaudhary Charan Singh...' says Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at the Opposition benches saying "You virtually insulted Chaudhary Charan Singh, you insulted his legacy. You had no time for Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh."

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday slammed the Opposition for disrupting Parliamentary proceedings during a discussion on the Bharat Ratna award for former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

Attempting to keep the house in order, a clearly agitated Dhankhar challenged Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, "Why are you shouting like a commando?" and requested the opposition members to quiet down.

He said, "Don't use this language. I will not tolerate insult to Chaudhary Charan Singh. He stands for impeccable public life, unimpeachable integrity, and commitment to farmers...I have seen with my eyes, ruckus, chaos, condemnation, shouting and sloganeering."

"You virtually insulted Chaudhary Charan Singh, you insulted his legacy. You had no time for Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh. You are hurting every farmer in the country by creating such an environment inside the House on the issue of Chaudhary Charan Singh. Our heads should go in shame," Dhankhar added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday, February 9, that agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan and former prime ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh have been posthumously given the Bharat Ratna. 

Recently, 96-year-old BJP stalwart L.K. Advani was also given the honor. Posthumous recognition was also given to socialist leader and two-time Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

The announcement that Chaudhary Charan Singh will get India's highest civilian award coincides with rumors of a seat-sharing agreement between the BJP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which was started by his son and is currently run by his grandson, Jayant Chaudhary.