'We will not tolerate..': Mallikarjun Kharge on Congress MP's 'separate country' remark

Congress President and Leader of Opposition Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday, said irrespective of which party, speaks about splitting the country, will never be tolerated.

He was reacting after Union Minister Piyush Goyal sought an apology from the Congress for the controversial statement by party MP D K Suresh, that allegedly suggested a call for a separate south nation over fiscal injustice.

Kharge said, "If he has said anything, the matter should be looked into by the privileges committee (of Lok Sabha)," Kharge said.

"We will not tolerate any statement that calls for breaking the country. That statement may be from any party... be it from my party or their (BJP) party, or somebody else. Someone says or not, I Mallikarjun Kharge, will state that India is one from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and will remain one. It is for this cause that Indira Gandhi gave the supreme sacrifice of her life and Rajiv Gandhi gave his life. Can such a party talk of breaking the country? We will not tolerate such a thing."

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It is not correct to repeat in the House what Suresh has not said, he added.

Before that Kharge said Suresh is not a member of the Rajya Sabha and, therefore, his conduct cannot be debated in the House. To this, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, however, said his earlier rulings had made it clear that the statement by a Lok Sabha MP can be discussed in the Upper House.

Goyal raised the issue in Rajya Sabha and said the statement by D K Suresh, who is the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, reflects the 'divisive' thinking of the Congress party.

Without naming Suresh, Goyal said the statement cannot be ignored as it is an attack on the Constitution of India and an insult to the