'Do I need to be a man to...': Mahua Moitra hits back at BJP's 'control their tongue' remark

A day after her use of an offensive word in Parliament led to a ruckus, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday said BJP's backlash against her reeks of patriarchy. Moitra's remarks came even as BJP MP Hema Malini said Opposition members should "control their tongue".

"BJP is saying how can I use such a word being woman, do I need to be a man to be able to give it back as good as it gets? So there's patriarchy," Mahua Moitra said on the controversy about her language in the Lok Sabha.

"I do not know what kind of language I am supposed to use. And I am quite surprised that BJP is today teaching us parliamentary etiquette. I will call an apple an apple, not an orange...," Mitra said while speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament today.

Moitra said if the ruling BJP will take her to the privileges committee, she will welcome it and will put her side of the story. "If you saw my speech and you saw the kind of heckling that gentleman...I would not call him a gentleman...an honourable representative from Delhi did the entire time. I was not even allowed to speak. He heckled me continuously. I asked for protection from the chairperson five time. The chairperson was unable to give me protection. Whatever I said was not on the record," Moitra said.

"They should control their tongue and not get over-excited and emotional. Each and every member of Parliament is a respectable person," BJP MP Hema Malini said on Moitra's use of offensive language in the Lok Sabha.

"Everyone is asking who is behind Mahua. Every day, the fake news brigade floats new theories. Is it an American investment bank? Is it Ambani, or is it China? Nobody is behind Mahua. Mahua is behind the truth," she asserted. BJP leaders created uproar in the House over her remark and sought an apology from her.

The first half of the Budget session will continue till February 13 and the second half will be held from March 13 to April 6.