Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 22, 2012
URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-22/india/33321329_1_rajiv-shukla-p-j-kurien-pj-kurien

Union minister Rajiv Shukla kicked off a controversy on Tuesday after he was heard telling Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House for the day after the opposition led by BJP created uproar over the CAG report on Coalgate.

 Congress member Kurien, who was unanimously elected deputy chairman on Tuesday, had just occupied the chair when opposition members started shouting slogans against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the government.

Amid the noisy scenes, Shukla, who is minister of state for parliamentary affairs, went to the chair and whispered in the ears of Kurien, "Pure din ke liye House adjourn kara dijiye (adjourn the House for the day)." The whisper, however, was caught on Kurien's mike and was amplified. The House was adjourned soon after for the day.

 Minutes earlier, Kurien, while accepting felicitations on his induction, had said that he would try to accommodate views of all members in running the House.

 Later, Shukla clarified that it was merely his advice to the chair. "If the opposition is disrupting the House, we can give suggestions. It is up to the chair to accept or reject our suggestions," he said.

 Similar gaffes have been cause of embarrassment for many world leaders. For instance, British PM John Major in 1993, after an interview with ITN political editor Michael Brunson, forgot about the recording equipment. He called some members of his Cabinet "bastards" and promised to "crucify" them. On a spate of recent revelations, he said, "I can't stop people sleeping with other people if they ought not to." He also called himself a "wimp" and said that he had no idea how to win an election.