&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'I advised PM Modi not to come to Lok Sabha': House speaker Om Birla")
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday (February 5) said the House was adjourned ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address after Opposition MPs surrounded the Speaker’s chair and created chaos. He added that, anticipating disruption led by the Congress, he advised the Prime Minister not to enter the Lok Sabha. Calling the incident unprecedented, Birla said bringing political differences to the Speaker’s office was unacceptable and described the episode as a “black spot” in Parliament’s history.
"When the leader of the house was supposed to give his response to the President's address, I got concrete information that several members of the Congress party were planning to go to the PM's chair and do something unexpected. I saw the event too. If it had happened, the incident would have been very appalling and completely destroyed the democratic tradition of the country," said Birla. "So it was my responsibility to then ensure that PM Modi does not come to the house," the speaker added further.
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What transpired in the Lok Sabha?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (February 4) to respond to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. However, repeated disruptions and sloganeering in the House led Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the proceedings amid heated exchanges between the Opposition and BJP members.
Following the adjournment, BJP MP Sandhya Rai, who was in the Chair, called upon party leader PP Chaudhary to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. According to reports, a group of Opposition women MPs advanced towards the Prime Minister’s seat holding placards ahead of his proposed speech. Several members also moved into the treasury benches, raising protests over the recent India–US trade agreement and the controversy surrounding former Army chief MM Naravane’s unpublished book.
