Censored Twice In 2 Days, Subramanian Swamy Is BJP's 'Gift', Says Congress

New Delhi: The BJP's newest parliamentarian, Subramanian Swamy, inspired some heavy sarcasm from the opposition today as his comments were deleted in the Rajya Sabha for the second time in two days.

"It is only his second day in Parliament. In two days you have expunged his remarks twice and there are 365 days and how many times you are going to expunge his words? This man has aged but does not know the difference between street words and Parliament words," said Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

"He does not allow his hair to turn gray so he hasn't learned or matured," he sneered.

Mr Swamy, 76, is a known Congress and Gandhi family baiter.

He provoked opposition anger when, while discussing the Aligarh Muslim University, he dragged in a reference to Italy.

On cue, furious Congress members jumped up and crowded around the Chair, calling Mr Swamy "CIA agent".

Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien expunged the comments and warned Mr Swamy against unnecessary provocation.

"This is a deliberate attempt to subvert zero hour," he said.

Mr Azad piped up: "The problem is not us. The problem is this new gift of the BJP which will not allow us to function."

Since he was sworn in as a Rajya Sabha member on Tuesday, Mr Swamy has fronted the BJP's offensive in Parliament on the AgustaWestland chopper scam, which has returned as a massive controversy for the Congress after an Italian court's order cited documents that refer to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among others.

Mr Swamy also raised the chopper scam on his first working day in Parliament yesterday and named Sonia Gandhi. In the showdown that followed, some marshals had to come to the centre of the house to form a wall between the opposition and ruling party members.

The Chair deleted his comments, saying that he cannot name members who cannot defend themselves in the house.