'Asked PM to skip LS...Congress MPs might try something': Speaker
What's the story
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has revealed that he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi against attending the House on Wednesday. The advice came after opposition MPs, including women MPs from the Congress party, surrounded the PM's chair. Birla said some MPs misbehaved in the Lok Sabha chamber and he had prior information about a possible disruption during Modi's address.
Decorum preservation
'Received credible information about possible disruption'
Birla said, "Historically, political disagreements have not been brought to the floor of Parliament. I received credible information that some members of the Congress party could have approached the Prime Minister's seat and caused an unforeseen incident." He stressed that if such an incident had occurred, it would have severely damaged India's dignity.
Session disruption
Opposition women MPs protested in Parliament
The Lok Sabha session witnessed dramatic scenes on Wednesday as opposition women MPs marched toward the Treasury benches with placards that read, "Do what is right." They were protesting against a trade deal with the United States and the unpublished memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane, which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to read out. As protests intensified, Speaker Birla adjourned the House without allowing PM Modi to address it.
Rising tensions
BJP's Nishikant Dubey raises family-related issues
Tensions had escalated further when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was allowed to raise books critical of the Gandhi family by the Chair. "On one hand, the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is not allowed to quote from a book that has already been published in Parliament. On the other hand, Nishikant Dubey sits with six books, openly displays them, quotes from them, and yet his microphone is not switched off," Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said.
RS
Lok Sabha passes President's Motion of Thanks without PM's response
For the first time in over 20 years, on Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on the President's address without Prime Minister Modi's customary reply. This is the first time since 2004 that such a thing has happened. In 2004, then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also unable to respond to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address