PM Modi’s Ramayana Jibe in RS Has Renuka Chowdhury Seeing Red

PM Modi derided Renuka Chowdhury’s laughter, comparing her to an unnamed Ramayana character. 

(Photo Courtesy: ANI Screengrab)

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that AB Vajpayee’s BJP government had “sown the seeds of Aadhaar” around two decades back, little did he expect to hear Renuka Chowdhury burst into loud, reverberating laughter.

Chowdhury, a senior Congress lawmaker, “couldn’t help but chuckle,” interrupting the Prime Minister’s speech and prompting Rajya Sabha Speaker Venkaiah Naidu to chide her for “loose talk”. Naidu asked Chowdhury if something was wrong with her and then asked her to sit down.

What has happened to you? If you have some problem, please go to the doctor. Please sit down, this is not the way. 

Venkaiah Naidu

But Chowdhury fell silent when the Prime Minister requested Naidu to let the Congress lawmaker be, as the house hadn’t heard such laughter since the days of Ramayana, the serial. Although PM Modi did not name any character from the epic, he left lawmakers guessing as to who had compared Chowdhury’s laughter to.

Sir, please don’t tell anything to Renuka Chowdhury. We haven’t heard such laughter since <i>Ramayana</i>, the TV serial.

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Offended at the Prime Minister for deriding her laughter, Chowdhury questioned Modi’s sense of etiquette and upbringing, as she emerged out of Parliament. She added that legal action could be taken against the him as denigrating the status of women is punishable by law. She further lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of being a party working against women’s rights.

Legal action can be taken against what the PM said in the House. Denigrating the status of women is a crime. I cannot stoop to his level. By speaking in such a manner, the PM has exposed his manners and upbringing before the nation.

Renuka Chowdhury, Congress Lawmaker

Chowdhury, however, sought reassurance in the nation, which she claims is filled with those fond of her laughter.

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam