Centre Vs TMC In Rajya Sabha As House Takes Up Discussion On Home Ministry

Last Updated:March 19, 2025, 20:32 IST

While alleging that the BJP is misusing central agencies to target opposition parties, TMC MP Saket Gokhale took a swipe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah claiming that he was "afraid" of being questioned

TMC MP Saket Gokhale took on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi on March 19. (Image: Sansad TV via PTI)

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale’s address in the Rajya Sabha on affairs of the Union home ministry triggered a massive ruckus with the BJP alleging that he made “casteist" remarks against Home Minister Amit Shah while referring to the term tanashahi.

Not only this, while alleging that the BJP is misusing central agencies to target opposition parties, Gokhale took a swipe at Shah claiming that he was “afraid" of being questioned. To this, Shah responded with a jibe of his own and said he was in Parliament after winning seven elections and “not at anyone’s mercy".

“The minister is already afraid before I have raised any questions, I don’t know how he will react going forward," Gokhale said.

The ruckus began as he started providing data on the number of pending corruption cases with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to which he strongly remarked: “I will not yield… I will not yield to him (Amit Shah). He needs to learn to listen."

To this, Shah said: “I have not come here at anyone’s mercy. I have come here by winning seven elections. I haven’t entered here just by opposing an ideology. There’s no question of being afraid… Whatever he’s referring to, he’s giving wrong information to the House and I am obligated to clarify…"

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When BJP national president JP Nadda intervened and demanded an apology from Gokhale for allegedly providing incorrect and inaccurate information, the House descended into chaos with the TMC MP emphasising he will not be making one.

He said: “I will not be apologising to him (Shah)!" Other members of the TMC were heard saying: “Discussion is our right, we will not apologise. Will you not even allow us to discuss anything? They (the ruling side) say such nonsensical things, but do we ever object?"

Rajya Sabha Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar urged Gokhale to withdraw his observations against Shah and said such statements discourage healthy debate in the House. When Gokhale refused to withdraw them, he called his remarks “unparliamentary, not well-motivated" and said they will be expunged.

WHAT WAS THE ‘TANASHAHI’ REMARK?

With tempers already high, Gokhale sparked another round of protests from the ruling when he made a reference to the word tanashahi and told Shah: “In summation, I want to make something very clear. Very simply speaking, the Union home ministry is supposed to be the ministry of home affairs, it does not mean aap ghar se chalao (operate from home), here home doesn’t mean ghar. There’s a term in Hindi called tanashahi – tana meaning dictatorial, ascerbic and shah meaning emperor. What I would like to say is, this sort of tanashahi, just because your name is Shah, doesn’t mean you should do that to the rest of the country and target states."

Before this, Gokhale said no discussion on the home ministry can be complete without making a reference to Manipur. “The debate has happened in this House, the state needed a healing touch. Whatever has happened under the watch of the home minister in Manipur, I really don’t know how he manages to sleep peacefully at night," he said.

To this Dhankhar intervened saying his observation is against a caste and sub-caste, and it must be withdrawn. Nadda once again demanded that the remarks should be withdrawn as they are “unparliamentary".

“No one will approve this. Using a caste name – be it Shah or Maratha – is not right. I will delete this observation if it’s not withdrawn and take appropriate action. We must avoid such venomous traction, which divides the society. This will invite consequences and both the matters are under my consideration," Dhankhar said.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also objected to Gokhale’s comments and said he started the whole discussion on a negative note. “The way Saket Gokhale started the discussion is very negative. During his 10-minute address, he has not given a single suggestion. What do you want to achieve by speaking such language? I have never seen a member initiating a discussion like this. You must elevate your standards. He has lowered the dignity of the Rajya Sabha. This is a gira hua bhashan," he added.

News politics Centre Vs TMC In Rajya Sabha As House Takes Up Discussion On Home Ministry