Why PM Modi Skipped Yesterday’s Parliament Speech? Sources Claim Congress Planned An Attack On Him, Om Birla Alerted Him

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he was upset about the chaos that forced the Lower House to adjourn right before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was supposed to speak on Wednesday.

Birla said he actually told the Prime Minister not to come to the Lok Sabha because Opposition MPs had gathered around his chair.

Om Birla advised PM Modi not to come to Lok Sabha

According to Birla, some Opposition MPs “misbehaved” inside the chamber. He’d already heard that Congress leaders were planning to disrupt things during the Prime Minister’s address.

He said, “Look, in the past, political disagreements never spilled out onto the floor of Parliament like this. I had reliable information that some Congress members were thinking about walking up to the Prime Minister’s seat and causing a scene.”

He went on, “If that had happened, it would’ve really hurt the dignity of the nation. That’s why I told the Prime Minister to stay away from Parliament.”

Birla called it a dark day for Parliament. “Bringing political fights to the Speaker’s office just isn’t how things are done in this House. What happened yesterday is a black mark in our parliamentary history,” he said. 

Om Birla: ‘It was like a black spot’

“It was like a black spot. All of us should cooperate in smooth functioning of the House,” he said. 

He said the Prime Minister, who is Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, was to reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s Address but he received information “that some Congress members can resort to an “unprecedented incident” near PM’s seat.

“The country saw what happened in the House yesterday. Everyone saw how the MPs approached the PM’s chair in the House. I got information that an unprecedented situation could have happened. It would have been very unfortunate; the country’s democratic fibre would have been damaged. To ensure that such a situation does not arise, I conveyed to PM Modi not to come to the House,” Birla said.

What happened in the Parliament? 

The Lok Sabha also passed through tumultuous events on Wednesday, with Opposition members complaining about the refusal of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to mention an unpublished book authored by former Army chief MM Naravane, which had been highly discouraged by the top ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah.

By mentioning books like Edwina and Nehru and The Mitrokhin Archive, BJP member of parliament Nishikant Dubey caused a new row of controversy when he made comments against former prime ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Lok Sabha in Turmoil

When Dubey went further citing different publications and mentioning people of the Gandhi family, TDP MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was presiding, came in, declaring that the Speaker had already voted that it was inadmissible to make such references.

Tenneti referred to Rule 349, which forbids the reading in the House by a member of any book, newspaper, or letter unless it was relevant to the business of the House, to suppress Dubey.

Congress and other Opposition MPs protested about the comment by Dubey who swamped into the Well of the House and forced an adjournment till 5 pm.

PM Modi’s Speech Halted After Chaos

Post adjournment, Congress MPs denied the Chair the chance to allow Dubey to read out books when it seemed to deny the Leader of the Opposition the same chance claiming the same rule.

The House had been adjourned three times before in the day, at 11 am, 12 noon and 2 pm, over the book of the former Army chief and the India-US trade agreement.

Floor managers in the government had informed that the Prime Minister would respond to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks at 5 pm.

Dubey was also suspended by the opposition members on the comments he made. 

As the House was re-convened at 5 pm, demonstrations got even stronger, and women Opposition MPs headed by a congress member Varsha Gaikwad marched by the seat of the Prime Minister to demonstrate.

BJP MP Sandhya Rai, who was the chair, adjourned the daily proceedings.

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