BJP's Ravishankar Prasad backed Speaker Om Birla's anguish over Parliament disruption by Congress. Birla revealed he advised PM Modi not to attend the House, fearing an 'unprecedented incident' by opposition MPs, calling it a 'black spot'.
BJP Slams Congress Over 'Unprecedented' Disruption
BJP MP Ravishankar Prasad strongly criticised the Congress and opposition parties over the disruption in Parliament, backing Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for expressing anguish over the unprecedented scenes witnessed in the House.
Reacting to Birla's statement, Prasad said the development marked a troubling moment in parliamentary history. "The speaker has expressed his anguish. In the history of the Indian Parliament, it has never happened before that the Prime Minister was forcibly prevented from speaking, surrounded, and the Speaker had to tell him not to come. What happened in the Speaker's chamber, what the opposition and the Congress members did, and what they want to achieve? Parliament is a place for debate; express your views within the limits of the law. What kind of coercion is this? This is the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi's leadership," he said.
Speaker Calls Ruckus a 'Black Spot' on Democracy
Earlier on Thursday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House yesterday to prevent any unpleasant incident as he received information that some Congress MPs can come to the PM's seat in the House and "resort to unprecedented incident".
Birla, who adjourned the House for the day when the House resumed its proceedings at 3 pm following adjournments earlier, said that some members had resorted to such behavior in the House chamber yesterday which has never taken place. He said the Constitution has given the Chair a place of dignity and history is witness that political differences have not reached the office of the House. Birla said the behaviour that some members of opposition had resorted to in the office of Speaker was not appropriate for the country's democratic traditions. "It was like a black spot. All of us should cooperate in smooth functioning of the House," he said.
Advised PM to Stay Away to Avert 'Unprecedented Incident'
He said the Prime Minister, who is Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, was to reply to the motion of thanks on the President's Address but he received information "that some Congress members can resort to an "unprecedented incident" near PM's seat. "The country saw what happened in the House yesterday. Everyone saw how the MPs approached the PM's chair in the House. I got information that any unprecedented situation could have happened. It would have been very unfortunate, the country's democratic fibre would have been damaged. To ensure that such a situation does not arise, I conveyed to PM Modi not to come to the House," Birla said.
He said it is his responsibility as Speaker to maintain the decorum of the House and protect its high traditions. Referring to noisy opposition protests, Birla said the Prime Minister not being able to speak in the House is not right in any manner. "The Prime Minister agreed to my suggestion, prevented any unpleasant incident from taking place...," he said.
Birla strongly objected to opposition members raising posters and said the House will not run like this. "The country saw yesterday's incident, how the women MPs reached there. This was not right, not in accordance with the dignity of the House. You want to lower the dignity of the House," he said.
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