Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House during the Budget Session after receiving information that some Congress MPs could carry out an “inappropriate act”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts proceedings in the House during the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on Thursday. PIC/PTI
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said he had advised Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi not to attend the House after receiving information that an inappropriate incident could take place near the PM’s chair amid continuing disruptions by the Opposition, news agency IANS reported.
Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, Birla said, “With immense sadness, I want to inform the House that the manner in which a few MPs behaved in the Lok Sabha chamber yesterday was unprecedented. This has never happened in the history of the Lok Sabha. The Speaker holds a respected position in the House, as mentioned in the Constitution. Differences of opinion have always existed in Parliament, but such behaviour has not been seen earlier.”
The Speaker also criticised the conduct of some Opposition leaders in his office, describing it as inappropriate for parliamentary functioning.
“What some Opposition leaders did in the Speaker’s office was not appropriate for parliamentary activities. I would say it was like a ‘black spot’. All of us should contribute to the smooth functioning of Parliament,” Birla said.
Referring to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Birla said he had received information that a few Congress MPs might create an inappropriate situation when the Leader of the House was scheduled to reply.
“When the Leader of the House was to respond to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, I got information that a few Congress MPs could do something inappropriate. I have also witnessed such incidents in Parliament earlier,” he said.
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Birla said that any such incident would have severely undermined the country’s democratic traditions.
“If such an incident had occurred, it would have torn apart the democratic traditions of the nation. To prevent this, I requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House yesterday. As Speaker, it is my responsibility to maintain the decorum of Parliament,” he added.
The Lok Sabha later adopted the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address on Thursday without the customary reply by Prime Minister Modi, as Opposition protests continued for the fourth consecutive day during the Budget Session.
The Speaker noted that this was not without precedent, recalling that in 2004, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also unable to reply to the Motion of Thanks due to Opposition disruptions.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi was absent from the House when the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, delivered to both Houses on January 28, was passed.
Amid sloganeering by Opposition members, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2:00 pm. Some Opposition MPs also entered the Well of the House carrying posters bearing the Prime Minister’s photograph with the slogan “Narendra-Surrender” written on them.
(With IANS inputs)
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