Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj at Parliament
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, attacked over her help to tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi, has the sympathy of at least one group in the opposition - the Samajwadi Party. Its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today said that for a woman, "
sau khoon maaf (100 murders would be forgiven)."
The comments came on a day raucous protests by the opposition forced both houses of Parliament to adjourn hours before schedule.
Mulayam Singh, one of the five Samajwadi Party MPs in the Lok Sabha, was asked to comment on the demand by Congress and other opposition parties that Ms Swaraj must resign for Parliament to run.
"You know what my party things about women. It is
sau khoon maaf for women," Mr Yadav said.
"Why are all of you hounding one woman?" he asked reporters.
The Samajwadi Party has made it clear that Sushma Swaraj is not their main target in the monsoon session that began yesterday.
Samajwadi leader Naresh Aggarwal said chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan must be removed for alleged misdemeanours, but the party is not demanding the removal of Sushma Swaraj for helping Lalit Modi obtain travel papers in UK.
"Politicians can't be asked to step down on the basis of some recommendations they make," he said.
Vasundhara Raje is accused of secretly backing Lalit Modi's application for immigration to the UK. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, faces allegations in connection with the Vyapam jobs recruitment scam.
Opposition lawmakers in Parliament today held noisy protests for the second day in a row, with leaders like Sitaram Yechury and Mayawati demanding an urgent discussion and action against these leaders.