I've called an apple, an apple and I stand by it: Mahua Moitra on verbal spat in Parliament

Responding to the demand of action against her, she said this is not the first time harsh words have been used in the House and she is being targeted because she is a woman.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday said she stood by her argument with BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri in the Parliament.

Her remarks in the House have led to a controversy and BJP has been demanding she apologise and action should be taken against her. Speaking to the media outside the parliament, Moitra said: "I have called an apple, an apple and I stand by it."

She used an expletive after alleging that she was being heckled and her speech was being intentionally disrupted. The word was not recorded because Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP K Ram Mohan Naidu was making his statement. Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi demanded an apology from the Trinamool Congress.

Responding to the demand of action against her, she said this is not the first time harsh words have been used in the House and she is being targeted because she is a woman. The BJP is saying Moitra, being a woman, used such a word. She said the attitude makes her laugh and asked: "Do I need to be a man to give it back as good as it gets?"

"This is a gentleman who has called farmers 'pimps'. It is on record, I have tweeted the video. The Honourable Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri, in the Rajya Sabha, called Dr Shantanu Sen an absolutely offensive word," said the MP from West Bengal.

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