Birla had genuine, well-founded concerns over PM’s safety: LS sources debunk opp’s allegations
NEW DELHI, Feb 9: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday amid a stand-off between the government and the opposition over Rahul Gandhi’s demand that he be allowed to speak before the discussion on the Union Budget begins.
When the House met at 2 pm after two adjournments, Sandhya Ray, who was in the Chair, asked Congress member Shashi Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget.
Tharoor told the Chair that Gandhi, being the Leader of Opposition (LoP), should be allowed to raise certain points before he starts his speech.
Ray said she had no issues if Gandhi wanted to speak on the Budget and asked him to begin.
Gandhi said at a meeting between Speaker Om Birla and some opposition MPs, an agreement was reached that he would be allowed to raise certain points before the Budget discussion, but the Chair was now reneging on its word.
Ray said she was not aware of any such agreement and that she could not allow anyone to raise any issue without notice.
At this point, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju intervened, saying there was no such agreement and if the LoP wanted to say something about the Speaker, then Birla should also be present in the House to respond.
Rijiju also said other members of the House would also speak on the subject and there would be a broader discussion.
With neither side budging from its position, Ray adjourned the House for the day.
The Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned twice earlier — once at 11 am when the business of the day began and again after a few minutes of proceedings at 12 noon.
At 11 am, as the House took up Question Hour, opposition members started raising issues which they demanded should be addressed immediately.
Birla, who was in the Chair, said these issues could be raised during the discussion on the Union Budget. He said members, including the LoP, were free to speak during the debate.
With the opposition members not relenting, Birla slammed them for “planned” disruptions and asked them to let the House run according to rules.
As the protests over various issues continued, the Speaker adjourned the House proceedings briefly.
At 12 noon, when the House reassembled, opposition parties insisted that Gandhi be allowed to speak before the House took up the discussion on the Budget.
As Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair, called Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget, opposition members dug in their heels and demanded that Gandhi be allowed to speak first.
Tenneti underlined that the discussion was on the Budget and the Congress had given Tharoor’s name as its lead speaker.
He said he would need to get clarity on whether the LoP could be allowed to speak. He also asked Gandhi whether he wanted to speak on the Budget.
Tharoor, meanwhile, said he yields to the LoP.
As the stalemate continued, Tenneti adjourned the House till 2 pm.
After the House was adjourned for the day, Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex that Gandhi wanted to respond to allegations that Congress MPs wanted to carry out an “unexpected act” in the Lok Sabha when the prime minister was to come last week to respond to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s January 28 address to both Houses of Parliament.
He said a clarification was required on the part of the LoP. The Lok Sabha has been witnessing disruptions since February 3, after Gandhi was disallowed by the Chair from quoting from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief M M Naravane’s “unpublished memoir”, which has references to the India-China conflict of 2020.
On February 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks due to opposition protests.
In an unprecedented move, the Motion of Thanks was passed on February 5 without the customary speech by the PM.
RAJYA SABHA
The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed an uproar and a walkout by the Opposition over the incidents of the Lok Sabha, where Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi could not finish his speech, and later Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away amid allegations that women MPs could have attacked him.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, raised the issue as soon as the Question Hour started at 12 noon.Chairman CP Radhakrishnan allowed Kharge to speak, adding that he should not speak on anything that happened in the other House.
“I am only raising issues concerning the Constitution… Parliament consists of our House and Lok Sabha… and the Constitution recognises these two Houses… We have to run according to procedures and rules…” Kharge said and went ahead to mention the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House is “not being allowed to speak”.
Radhakrishnan, however, did not allow him to raise the issue relating to the Lok Sabha and said “nothing that he says will go on record”.
The Chairman proceeded with the Question Hour. However, Kharge and other Opposition leaders continued to stand in their seats, demanding to be allowed to speak.
As the Chairman did not relent, Opposition MPs started raising slogans, accusing the ruling BJP of insulting women MPs. MPs of all the INDIA bloc parties were on their feet, except the TMC.
After raising slogans for a while, the Opposition MPs staged a walkout from the House, and the Question Hour continued.
SPEAKER HAD GENUINE REASONS
With the opposition asserting that there was no imminent threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha last week, lower House secretariat sources on Monday said that several women MPs had moved “aggressively” towards his seat and Speaker Om Birla had genuine concerns regarding Modi’s safety.
Citing the sequence of events which unfolded in the House on Wednesday, they said the speaker had “genuine and well-founded concerns regarding the safety of the prime minister” and the “maintenance of order” in the House.
Birla’s advice to the prime minister not to enter the LS chamber at that juncture was guided solely by the “need to ensure the smooth functioning of parliamentary business and to safeguard the dignity and sanctity of the institution,” the Lok Sabha secretariat sources said.
The assertion of the sources came hours after Congress’ women Lok Sabha MPs wrote to Birla claiming that under pressure from the ruling party to defend the “non-appearance” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made grave allegations against them.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with some opposition leaders, also met Birla and apprised him about the issues he wants to raise in the House.
The meeting took place after proceedings in the lower house were adjourned for the day amid a standoff between the government and the opposition over Gandhi’s demand that he be allowed to speak before the discussion on the Union Budget begins.
Responding to allegations that Birla toed the line of the BJP by asking Modi not to come to the House, the sources said the claims were “devoid of facts”, and the assertion by opposition leaders that there was no imminent threat to the prime minister was incorrect. (PTI)
