New Delhi, Mar 17: Congress leader K C Venugopal on Friday gave Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar a breach of privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on why former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's family did not use his surname.

The prime minister's remarks were made during his reply to the motion of thanks on the president's address in the Rajya Sabha on February 9 during the first part of the budget session.

"I hereby give a notice of question of privilege against the prime minister of India under Rule 188 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Council of States (Rajya Sabha) for having cast reflections upon members of Parliament during his reply to the motion of thanks on the president's address on February 9, 2023," Venugopal said in his notice.

He alleged that the remarks prima facie were made in a mocking manner and were not only disgraceful but also insulting and defamatory vis-a-vis members of the Nehru family, particularly Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who are members of the Lok Sabha.

Venugopal said in his notice that the very suggestion by the prime minister on why they did not take Nehru as a surname is "preposterous" by its very nature.

The prime minister, he said, knows very well that the surname of the father is not taken by daughter.

"Despite knowing that, he deliberately mocked....The tone and tenor of the remark is insinuating and derogatory in nature. This clearly amounts to casting reflections upon Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by the prime minister, which breaches upon their privileges and also tantamounts to contempt of the house.

"I seek privilege proceedings against Shri Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, for having made derogatory, insulting, distasteful and defamatory remarks against Smt Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhi which has amounted to breach of their privileges and also contempt of the house," the Congress Rajya Sabha member said in his notice.

The BJP has been demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi after the party launched a major offensive against him over his "democracy under threat" remarks made recently in London. The party alleged that the former Congress chief has defamed India and its institutions on foreign soil.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.