Click to play videoNew Delhi: Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has referred to the Lok Sabha’s privileges committee Indian ambassador Ronen Sen’s statement in which he called critics of the Indo-US nuclear deal “headless chickens”.
Sen, India’s envoy in Washington, and possibly the journalist who interviewed him will have to appear before the committee headed by Congress MP K S Deo.
The committee will decide on what action can be taken against the envoy. Sen has apologised for the remarks and said that by “headless chickens” he meant his friends in the media but MPs have been demanding his recall.
The External Affairs Ministry had requested that the matter be closed in view of Sen’s apology but the Speaker referred it to the privileges committee because of MPs.
When the UPA Government and its Left partners were arguing over the nuclear deal, Sen said: The nuclear deal “has been approved here (in Washington, DC) by the President, and there (in New Delhi) it's been approved by the Indian cabinet. So why do you have all this running around like headless chicken, looking for a comment here or comment there, and these little storms in a tea-cup?”.
"I can understand (such a debate) immediately after independence," he said. "But 60 years after independence! I am really bothered that 60 years after independence, they are so insecure—that we have not grown up, this lack of confidence and lack of self-respect," he had said.
He later sent a written apology to the Ministry in which he said: "My comment about running round like headless chicken looking for a comment here or a comment there was a tactless observation on some of my media friends and most certainly not with reference to any honourable MP."
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