Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled speech during the Motion of Thanks debate in Lok Sabha did not take place on Wednesday with several Opposition members trooping in to the well of the House. Members of the Opposition, including several women MPs, walked across the Well to the prime minister’s seat and carried out slogans; they had a flex denouncing the prime minister as well as several posters.
Continued disruptions were seen through the day, and the House was adjourned twice before it convened at 5pm for the PM’s address. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi flashed a copy of the contentious book, former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army MM Naravane’s memoirs Four Stars of Destiny both within and outside the House. It remains unclear whether PM Modi will deliver his speech in Lok Sabha on Thursday, but he will speak in the Rajya Sabha on the same day.
BJP MP from Bhind, Sandhya Ray, who was at the Chair during the commotion, adjourned the House for the day a minute after the Lok Sabha had convened. The women MPs from the Opposition, which included Congress MP from Mumbai North Central Varsha Gaikwad, Mayiladuthurai MP R Sudha and Karur MP Joothimani.
Some BJP women MPs were were seen approaching the Opposition MPs standing near the PM’s seat even as the House had adjourned. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnav, as well as Anurag Thakur tried to diffuse the situation and asked the treasury bench members to walk away. Congress MP Deepender Hooda then soon came to stop the matter from escalating.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that it was a well-thought out plan by the Opposition. “You will be shocked to see what happened in the House today. For the first time members crossed the Well towards the treasury benches, and in a pre-planned manner put the women MPs in front to carry out this malpractice,” Tiwari told reporters outside Parliament.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said that the Opposition was waiting for the PM to speak. “We want the House to function and all MPs to express their views, but the Leader of the Opposition and other MPs are not being allowed to speak. We have a lot of issues to raise with the PM but he did not speak at all,” Yadav said.
Earlier in the day, the BJP and the Opposition sparred over Nishikant Dubey flashing books written against the Nehru-Gandhi family, including one on the Bofors scandal in the House. Some MPs asked the Krishna Tenetti, who was the acting Chair then, how were the books allowed. Tenneti told Dubey that quoting books was not allowed as per the Speaker’s ruling and adjourned the House till 5 PM. A few irate Congress MPs soon went to the Speaker’s Chambers to complain against Dubey.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters outside Parliament that while Gandhi is not allowed, Dubey is. “The LoP has brought a published book; he brought it online and he is not allowed to quote from it, but this maharaj (Dubey) is. Is that fair,” Priyanka said.