Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien termed Congress M.P. Ramachandra Rao as ‘mad’ thus creating a huge commotion from Congress Benches.

The incident took place when the Upper House was discussing matters relating to Andhra Pradesh, the home State of K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao. It was at that time that Rao held a placard in his hands, went and stood by the chair of the Deputy Speaker and started raising slogans, paying no heed to the latter’s request to keep quiet.

Despite Rao remaining adamant, an enraged Kurien termed the former as ‘mad’, thus sparking a huge controversy. Congress MPs were up and started shouting against the Deputy Speaker’s remark humiliating a party colleague. Later, Deputy Speaker said that  his remark about Rao was being deleted from the House records. This pacified the Congress MPs.

Later, speaking to newsmen, Rao said that he spent a sleepless night after he was named as ‘mad’ by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. “If I’m termed mad for raising the issues concerning the people of Andhra Pradesh in the Upper House, so be it,” he commented.