New Delhi, Feb 5 || Prime Minister Narendra Modi's quip about Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's age -- suggesting the 83-year-old Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha be allowed to raise slogans while seated -- set the tone for a stormy afternoon in Parliament.
Delivered with characteristic sharpness, the remark drew immediate fire from opposition benches, who were already engaged in sloganeering in the Upper House.
They interpreted it as a jibe at Kharge's seniority and physical condition.
What followed was a crescendo of protests that turned the Upper House into a theatre of slogans and interruptions.
The Rajya Sabha descended into chaos on Thursday as PM Modi rose to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Members of the Congress and INDIA bloc erupted in coordinated sloganeering, chanting "Tanashahi nahi, Indira ji ka apmaan nahi sahenge" and "Leader of the Opposition ko bolne do", demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak without curbs in the Lok Sabha.