Seeking to end the controversy that erupted over his remarks and stalled parliamentary proceedings, Union minister Anantkumar Hegde on Thursday tendered an apology in the Lok Sabha after a nudge by the Speaker but he said his speech at a function in Karnataka was distorted.
As soon as the House assembled, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge sought to raise the issue of Hegde's controversial remarks on secularism and changing the constitution, but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan prevented him saying the minister of state for skill development would make a statement.
Hegde first said that he held the country, the constitution and its architect B R Ambedkar in high esteem and there was no question of showing disrespect to them.
"As a citizen, I can't think of violating the constitution," he said.
After this, the Congress, led by Kharge, again protested demanding an apology from Hegde.
The Speaker then intervened and told Hegde that there was no question of anyone showing disrespect to Ambedkar but, at times, if someone says something, his or her statement sometimes hurt someone else and for that if the person tenders apology, his stature would not get lowered.
With Mahajan's nudge, Hegde said his speech was presented in a distorted manner which was not correct.
"If someone is hurt, I have no hesitation to tender my apology," he said.
At a function in Karnataka on Sunday, Hegde, the Minister of State for Skill Development, had reportedly said people should identify themselves by their religion and "those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don't have their own identity...They don't know about their parentage." He had also said "we are here to change the Constitution and we'll change it."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were present in the House.
However, the Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments in the pre-lunch session as the opposition protested Hegde's remarks, while a Bharatiya Janata Party member pressed for a privilege notice against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for "twisting" Arun Jaitley's name.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said he would examine the privilege notice by BJP's Bhupender Yadav against Gandhi and added that any comment from outside the House on an agreement between the ruling side and the opposition was not good.
On Wednesday, after a prolonged impasse, the Rajya Sabha had passed two important bills after the government and opposition reached an understanding on Prime Minister's Narendra Modi remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
"A solemn agreement between the Leader of the House and Leader of the Oppositon was reached. Anybody outside (the House) commenting on the agreement is not good for the House or the system," Naidu said.
The House was adjourned briefly in the pre-noon session as the main opposition Congress continued protests over Hegde's remark on secularism and changing the constitution. The House was adjourned again little after noon till 2 pm.
When the House met at 12 pm, Naidu wanted to take up a Question Hour, but opposition members were again on their feet noisily protesting Hegde's remarks.
Naidu berated them saying it was important that the questions are taken up and the opposition members were violating rules.
Congress member B K Hariprasad responded that the members were only violating rules while a minister was violating the constitution.
An angry Naidu said since Hariprasad has himself admitted to violating rules, he would have to think what action can be taken against him.
As Hariprasad demanded that the minister be sacked, Naidu said it was a political demand. Naidu's attempts to continue the Question Hour did not deter the Congress members from protesting as several of them trooped into the Well shouting slogans.
Treasury bench members including BJP chief Amit Shah watched as union minister Vijay Goel said the House to which Hegde belonged was functioning while Rajya Sabha was finding it difficult to transact business.
As the protests continued, Naidu said the scenes of disruption would not be telecast. As there was no let up in the protests, Naidu adjourned proceedings till 2 pm.
During the Zero Hour, senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav said he had given notice under Rule 187 as Congress President Gandhi had "intentionally, maliciously and disrespectfully twisted" name of Leader of the House Arun Jaitley in a tweet.
"This comes under the category of privilege...," Yadav said, adding a notice in this regard had been given.
The chairman however said "no member should take the name" of a person not present in the House to defend himself against a charge or allegation.
He said that people felt that Parliament, particularly the Rajya Sabha, was not doing its business and bills were not being taken up.
"Fortunately", due to the initiatives taken by the both sides, the "House has come back to normalcy", he said.
However, Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad raised the issue relating to Hegde's remarks and sought to know whether a "person who does not believe in the constitution can continue to be a memberr of Council of Ministers".
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said Hegde has clarified his statement in the Lok Sabha and expressed regret, so no issue remains and the matter should be put to rest.
"Hegde has clarified in Lok Sabha that his remarks were twisted and he respects Baba Saheb Ambedkar. He has also expressed regret if his statement has hurt the sentiments of anyone," Goyal said, adding that "after Hegde's clarification, there is no issue left".
As the Congress continued to raise the issue, Naidu adjourned the House till noon.
