New Delhi: In a new development following the disruption in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the President’s Address, Speaker Om Birla on Thursday disclosed that he had personally advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House on Wednesday, citing concerns over unruly conduct by opposition members.
Addressing the House before adjourning proceedings for the day, Birla said the situation could have turned unpleasant as some opposition MPs had crossed over to the treasury benches and behaved in an unparliamentary manner. He expressed serious concern over Congress-led opposition women MPs who had positioned themselves around the Prime Minister’s seat holding banners.
“I urged the Prime Minister not to come to the House because anything untoward could have happened,” the Speaker said, adding that such conduct undermines parliamentary decorum.
The disruption, marked by women MPs standing directly in front of the Prime Minister’s seat, resulted in the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address being passed without Modi’s reply. His scheduled response could not take place on Thursday either as the uproar continued.
The Speaker warned the opposition against bringing banners and posters into the House, asserting that parliamentary proceedings cannot function under such circumstances.
The Congress-led opposition has been demanding action against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, alleging that he made derogatory remarks referring to the Nehru-Gandhi family during the House proceedings on Wednesday.
The Congress cited a recent ruling by the Speaker that bars MPs from making critical references to individuals without prior notice. The ruling had earlier been invoked when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to quote an unpublished work to criticise the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister.
BJP leaders Sanjay Jaiswal and Aprajita Sarangi supported the decision of the Prime Minister to stay away from the House, stating that it helped avert a possible escalation. Sarangi said opposition women MPs had blocked the path to the Prime Minister’s seat while carrying banners with objectionable messages, forcing Modi to avoid attending in the interest of maintaining the dignity of Parliament.
Jaiswal demanded strict action against the MPs who disrupted the proceedings, while the opposition continued to insist on punitive action against Dubey.
