V K Singh hits back at critics: 'Don't become a laughing stock'

Under attack in Parliament for his 'dog' analogy, Union minister V K Singh said on Friday that he was aghast at witnessing a 'game of cat and mouse' in the Rajya Sabha and accused the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi of resorting to 'cheap political wrangling'.

On a day when the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party disrupted proceedings in the Rajya Sabha on the remarks made by the former army chief, Singh said those who are targeting him were becoming 'laughing stock' and trained his guns on a section of the media alleging they were indulging in 'supari journalism'.

'My expectation was that the Rajya Sabha would dedicate itself wholly to the nation’s welfare, going beyond narrow-mindedness. But my belief got drastically hurt when I found members of the Rajya Sabha involved in a narrow game of cat and mouse, which is painful to me. It was beyond my imagination that there are some members in the Rajya Sabha who resembled forces whom we were told in our childhood to keep away from,' he said in a Facebook post.

Opposition parties including the Congress and the BSP have been demanding his dismissal from the government over his controversial 'dog' analogy after killing of two Dalit children in Haryana.

After the burning of a Dalit family in Haryana in which two children had died, Singh had said that 'the Centre cannot be blamed if somebody throws a stone at a dog'.

Singh said efforts are on to deliberately create a misunderstanding for political gains.

'Most of the people of the country understand it except those who, for petty political reasons, want to deliberately create a misunderstanding, like some journos who indulge in supari journalism (sic)'.

'The impression also was that the heir-apparent having lost the plot and seeing the mood of people was trying to fire the gun from the shoulders of champions of self-styled votaries of dalit cause that is belied by their own personal misconduct,' Singh said in the post.

The former army chief said the people involved in such 'political gamesmanship' were becoming 'laughing stocks' in the eyes of large sections of people in the country.

'I could not believe that comprehension has become such a serious deficiency on account of cheap political wranglings. Even in wild imagination my 'dog analogy for government not being responsible for every incident' being taken as a remark against any human is a travesty of intelligence,' the minister of state for external affairs said.

Attending the Rajya Sabha was a 'revelation' for him as he witnessed 'petty political one-upmanship' of some members against his impression that the Upper House comprised of elders and people with full of wisdom, Singh further said.

Referring to his tenure in the army, Singh said his credentials as a person who does not believe in dividing on the lines of caste or religion developed in this institution.

"I am not a slick lawyer or someone who has used the political system to his personal advantage, but I stand firm on my convictions of being well away from divisiveness that has plagued the nation. I am also convinced that people of the country are wise enough to see the cheap popularity stratagem being adopted by some political parties," he said.

Mounting a fresh attack, Congress on Thursday had decided to boycott Singh in both Houses of Parliament till he apologises for his controversial comments.