Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla revealed on Thursday that he advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House, citing concerns about potential disruptions and inappropriate incidents planned by Congress Members of Parliament (MPs). According to Birla, he received information indicating that Congress MPs intended to approach the Prime Minister's chair in an unexpected and potentially disruptive manner.
Birla stated that he had "concrete information" that certain Congress members were planning to approach the Prime Minister's chair with disruptive intentions. He felt that if such an incident were to occur, it would be appalling and would undermine the democratic traditions of the country. Therefore, he believed it was his responsibility to ensure the Prime Minister did not come to the House under those circumstances.
The situation unfolded during a period of heightened tensions in the Lok Sabha. On Tuesday, February 3, eight opposition MPs were suspended for what was termed "unruly conduct," including allegedly throwing papers towards the Chair. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a resolution citing "unruly behaviour" and serious violations of parliamentary norms as the reason for the suspensions. Those suspended included Congress MPs Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole, Dean Kuriakose, and CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan.
Adding to the turmoil, proceedings were repeatedly disrupted by Opposition members' sloganeering. Sources also alleged that Congress MPs were planning to physically attack PM Modi in the Lok Sabha, and women MPs were sent as a cover measure for this. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari described the situation as "extremely scary," claiming that women MPs were positioned around the Prime Minister's seat in a "pre-planned manner" and that their aggressive conduct raised serious security concerns. He further claimed that these MPs could have attacked the Prime Minister, and it was only due to Kiren Rijiju's intervention that the situation was brought under control.
The unrest in Parliament stemmed from several issues, including objections to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi being disallowed from quoting the unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane. Manickam Tagore, a suspended Congress MP, asserted that the Opposition would not allow Prime Minister Modi to speak until Rahul Gandhi was allowed to present his views.
Due to the disruptions, the Motion of Thanks to the President's address was passed without the customary reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister is now expected to address the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha later in the day.