Birla's comments on Emergency not apt, not suitable for LS Speaker: Pawar

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the reference to Emergency made by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in his speech was not apt and did not suit the stature of his post. Addressing reporters here, Pawar also said the sops announced in the budget presented by his estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday, was just an effort ahead of the state assembly polls to project that they are doing something massive. Soon after his election as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla on Wednesday set off a firestorm by reading out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency as an attack on the Constitution by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Referring to it, Pawar said, "The speaker's reference to the Emergency in his address did not suit the stature of the post. It has been 50 years since the Emergency, Indira Gandhi is no longer alive. So why is the speaker bringing up this issue now?" "Is it the role of the speaker to make a political statement? .