The Aryavarth Express
New Delhi: Women Members of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take strict action against Opposition MPs over an alleged disruption during the Budget Session.
In a letter to the Speaker, BJP women MPs alleged that Opposition members created an “unfortunate and regrettable” situation in the House during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. They claimed that Opposition MPs entered the Well of the House, climbed onto tables, tore papers, and threw them towards the Chair. The letter further alleged that women MPs from the Opposition surrounded the Prime Minister’s seat on February 4 and later aggressively approached the Speaker’s chamber.
Calling for the “strongest possible action,” the BJP MPs said they were deeply provoked by the incident but restrained themselves on the directions of senior party leaders. The episode was described as one of the “darkest moments in the history of parliamentary democracy.”
The letter also claimed that the situation escalated when Opposition MPs allegedly confronted the Speaker in his chamber, with loud noises heard from inside. The BJP MPs expressed confidence in Speaker Om Birla’s conduct, stating that during his nearly seven-year tenure, he has worked to uphold the dignity of the House while maintaining impartiality and offering equal opportunity to members across party lines.
The BJP’s letter came in response to a communication from Congress women MPs, who accused the Speaker of making “false, baseless, and defamatory” allegations against them under pressure from the ruling party.
Earlier, Speaker Om Birla stated that he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to avoid attending the House on a particular day after receiving inputs that some Congress MPs might approach the Prime Minister’s seat and attempt an unprecedented protest.
Responding to the allegations, Congress women MPs maintained that their protests were peaceful and conducted in accordance with parliamentary norms. They alleged that they were subjected to unprecedented targeting by the ruling party.
In their letter, the Congress MPs also pointed out that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly denied an opportunity to speak during the Motion of Thanks debate over four consecutive days, while a BJP MP was allowed to make what they described as “vulgar and obscene” remarks about former Prime Ministers.
They further claimed that when they sought action against the BJP MP, the Speaker acknowledged a “grave mistake” but later said he was awaiting the government’s response, raising questions over his independence. According to the Congress MPs, the Speaker subsequently issued a statement making serious allegations against them to justify the Prime Minister’s absence from the House.
The controversy comes amid a continuing stalemate in the Lok Sabha over Rahul Gandhi’s address during the Motion of Thanks debate, during which he attempted to cite former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s memoir on the 2020 India–China standoff.
