Sushma targets Meira Kumar using old video, news report

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Ahead of the presidential election, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday targeted former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar using a 2013 video of the Lok Sabha proceedings and a newspaper report.

Meira Kumar has been named the opposition’s presidential candidate to take on National Democratic Alliance’s candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

"This is how Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar treated the Leader of Opposition," Sushma Swaraj tweeted, along with an April 2013 video of the Lok Sabha proceedings during the Budget Session.

In the six-minute video, Sushma Swaraj is seen berating the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, pointing to a number of alleged scams.

Four minutes into the video, then Speaker Meira Kumar is seen repeatedly saying "alright", "thank you", "okay", "I have to proceed", hinting then Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj to conclude her speech.

The External Affairs Minister also attached a link of a news report of the Pioneer newspaper dated May 3, 2013, which said that Sushma Swaraj was "interrupted" by the Speaker for "at least 60 times during the next 120 seconds of Swaraj’s speech".

At the end of the video, the Bharatiya Janata Party members led by Sushma Swaraj are seen walking out of the House.