'Asked for a smoking room': Kiren Rijiju recalls first request to Speaker - here's what he got instead

NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju shared an embarrassing yet unforgettable anecdote from his early days in politics, when his very first request to the Lok Sabha Speaker was for a “smoking room.”

Recalling his first meeting with Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Kiren Rijiju said he walked out with a “good scolding” and a lasting lesson- to "approach such offices with more purpose."

"The first time I met Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, I had gone to request a room for MPs who smoke. He scolded me, saying, 'This is your first meeting with the Speaker and this is what you've come for?' I got a good scolding that day and learned I should approach such offices with more purpose," PTI quoted him as saying on Saturday.

He was speaking at Sansad Ratna Awards where he also expressed that his political opponents weren't his "enemies".

"We are all colleagues. Before 2014, most of my parliamentary career has been on the Opposition benches. Political rivalries may exist, but there is no enmity," he said.

Referencing Winston Churchill, Rijiju said, "A new MP once asked Churchill about the people sitting across the aisle, and he said they were political opponents. But when asked about those sitting on his side, he said they were our political enemies. That is politics, but we are not enemies."

"There, one MP represents approximately 66,000 people. Here, it is over 20 lakh. They are not asked to fix drains or get someone out of jail. But our MPs deal with personal grievances, infrastructure and law enforcement issues and are still expected to perform in the House," he said. "Despite all this, they are often criticised. Every elected MP deserves respect, it is not an easy job," he added.