Speaker more affectionate towards Pranab: Sharad Yadav

National Democratic Alliance convenor Sharad Yadav on Thursday took a swipe at Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar claiming she was more "affectionate" towards the Treasury Benches, but showed little mercy towards the Opposition.

"Ek varsh ho gaya hai, aapka prem Pranab babu ki taraf toh khub jhalakta hai, lekin hum logon ki taraf aapki daya kabhi nahi hoti (It has been a year now, your affection is more towards Pranab (Treasury Benches) and you have been less kind to us," Yadav said in the Lok Sabha.

At this point, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the House, was seen with folded hands, smiling.
Yadav's left-handed compliment to the Speaker came a day after she rejected Opposition-sponsored Adjournment Motion on price rise contending that it involved no failure on the part of the government.

The JD(U) chief said in his inimitable style that her decision had forced the Opposition to spend a sleepless night mulling how to confront the Speaker.

"We in the Opposition spent a sleepless night thinking how to confront the Speaker. The Speaker is the highest authority and it is difficult to confront the Chair and how should we do it," he said.

Yadav said that after a lot of confabulations, the Opposition decided to demand a discussion under Rule 184 that entails voting.