New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): Rajya Sabha MP P. Sandosh Kumar from Keralam has written to C.P. Radhakrishnan seeking the expunction of remarks made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman against the Communist movement during proceedings of the House.
In his letter, Kumar drew Radhakrishnan’s attention to what he described as “highly objectionable and derogatory remarks” made by Sitharaman while replying to a debate on a resolution seeking disapproval of the Income-Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.
Kumar said that the remarks were made while the Finance Minister was referring to CPI(M) MP John Brittas and his political affiliation.
According to Kumar’s letter, Sitharaman described Brittas as a “typical communist type” and accused Communists of twisting facts and creating confusion. She also said, “Communists in this country are total cowards.”
The Finance Minister further criticised Brittas for allegedly creating confusion and said that he should remain in the House to hear the government’s reply, according to the statement quoted in Kumar’s letter.
Kumar argued that the remarks went beyond criticism of the arguments made by an individual MP and amounted to a derogatory reference to the Communist movement and its members and supporters.
“The statement that ‘Communists in this country are total cowards’ is a sweeping and derogatory reference to the entire Communist movement and its members and supporters across the country,” Kumar said in his letter.
The CPI MP also referred to the historical role of the Communist movement in India’s freedom struggle and public life.
He said that Communist activists had participated in the freedom movement, faced imprisonment and colonial repression, and contributed to democratic, workers’ and social movements.
Kumar said that it was “deeply inappropriate and historically unjust” to characterise an entire political movement as “cowardly” and argued that such remarks were inconsistent with the dignity and decorum expected during parliamentary debates.
The CPI MP acknowledged that the Union Finance Minister was entitled to disagree with arguments made by any Member of Parliament.
“However, political disagreement cannot be converted into personal abuse or an insulting characterisation of an entire political ideology and movement,” Kumar said.
He argued that describing Communists as “total cowards” was not a rebuttal of an argument but a political remark directed at an entire movement.
Kumar subsequently requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman to consider expunging the objectionable remarks from the official records of the House in accordance with parliamentary rules and established practice.
“I hope your good office will take appropriate action to uphold the dignity of the House and the standards of parliamentary discourse,” Kumar said in his letter. (ANI)
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