“Congress Likely to Do Something Unexpected,” Speaker Advice Modi Not to Come to Lok Sabha, Motion of Thanks Passed without PM’s Reply

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Feb 5: With the Congress virtually sending a clear message to the ruling dispensation that if the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address, they would continue to stall the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate, the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Thursday told the House that the PM had been advised not to speak in the House due to concerns regarding his safety.

Mr Modi’s reply to the Motion of Thanks was cancelled on Wednesday after the opposition ruckus and the House was adjourned for the day minutes before he was scheduled to start his address.

The Lower House eventually passed the Motion of Thanks on Thursday afternoon without the PM’s reply. Before adjourning the house for the day, Mr Birla said he received information that leaders from the Congress party were planning to go to the PM’s chair.

“When the leader of the house was supposed to give his response to the President’s address, I got concrete information that several members of the Congress party were planning to go to the PM’s chair and do something unexpected. I saw the event too. If it would have happened, the incident would have been very appalling and completely destroyed the democratic tradition of the country,” said Birla.

“So it was my responsibility to then ensure that PM Modi does not come to the house,” the speaker added further. He asserted that he adjourned the House to prevent unpleasant scenes in the temple of democracy. This is why, sources said, the PM’s reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address was cancelled.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra snubbed the claim as “absolute lies.”

Mr Modi on Wednesday was slated to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks. However, due to the chaos and sloganeering inside the Parliament, Om Birla adjourned the House amid the slugfest between the Opposition and the BJP.

After the adjournment of the house, BJP member Sandhya Rai, who was presiding, invited BJP leader PP Chaudhary to respond to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

As per reports, a group of women MPs from the opposition moved towards the Prime Minister’s seat carrying banners ahead of his proposed address. Many also reached the treasury benches to raise objections over the recent India-US trade deal and the row caused by former Army Chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished book which Rahul Gandhi wanted to raise in the House while participating in the debate on the Motion.

The women MPs held a banner that read: “Do what is right.” The siege ended after some ministers requested them to leave. Speaking in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Birla described the opposition MPs’ behaviour as a “black spot” and “inappropriate for parliamentary traditions.”

In prompt action, the Speaker requested the PM to not come to Lok Sabha, fearing that the chaos could lead to ugly scenes within parliament. “If an incident had happened, it would have been a very unpleasant scene that would have torn apart the democratic traditions of the country. To avoid this, I requested the Prime Minister to skip coming to the House,” he added.

The House was eventually adjourned, and the PM’s speech was cancelled. The decision was taken in view of the PM’s safety, government sources said adding that the women MPs were sent as a cover measure as part of the planned attack. The Motion of Thanks was eventually passed this afternoon amid loud sloganeering by Opposition members.

The Congress trashed the attack charges and claimed that the Prime Minister was hiding behind the Speaker. Priyanka Gandhi said, “There is no question of anybody raising hands on the PM, trying to hurt him, or any such thing. It is absolutely wrong for anybody to say that there was any such plan. The PM is now hiding behind the Speaker. They are making the Speaker say all this because yesterday he didn’t have the guts to come in the House.”

Another party spokesperson, Atul Londhe Patil, claimed that the PM was scared of facing the parliament. “The truth is that he is scared of reality. That Naravane has become the ‘daravane’ (scary) is the main reason. That is why the PM doesn’t want to face the parliament. Asking questions is not assault. He (the PM) is avoiding questions,” he said.

DMK spokesperson A Saravanan also backed ally Congress. “I think the BJP ecosystem and the prime minister are rattled by the kind of coverage that Mr Rahul Gandhi’s statements have received,” he said.

The BJP, meanwhile, condemned planned violence and said the Congress has exposed its true face, “which is anti-India and pro-violence.” “This is how the Naxals used to behave. Under the garb of democracy, they used to practice every anti-democratic act. If Congress MPs thought about this, then this is dangerous,” said BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.