Rebuttal By Parliament Sect On Women MPs Letter

New Delhi: While an official response to the letter by the Congress women MPs to the Lok Sabha Speaker is awaited, sources in Parliament Secretariat said the situation both in and outside the House was very volatile last Wednesday, and there was indeed threat to the Prime Minister from the women MPs as several of them moved aggressively towards the seat of the PM forming a virtual cordon around him when he was in the House earlier. Later, in the Speaker’s chamber too the MPs were very agitated and used “unparliamentary” words, sources claimed.

Mr Birla had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to Lok Sabha on Wednesday to speak on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. He had told him that there was threat to him, a claim strongly refuted by the Congress women MPs in Lok Sabha. Sources said the Speaker’s advice came in the backdrop of the “grave and unprecedented disorder” that unfolded in the House on that day. They said from the beginning itself the atmosphere in the Chamber deteriorated sharply, “giving rise to serious concerns regarding safety, decorum, and the dignity of parliamentary functioning.”

Narrating the sequence of events that took place last week, sources highlighted that at the initial stage of the proceedings, MPs belonging to Opposition parties entered the Well of the House and the situation escalated rapidly as certain MPs climbed onto tables, tore official papers, and hurled them towards the Chair. They added that amid this chaos, several women MPs moved aggressively towards the seat of the PM forming a virtual cordon around it.

“Disturbingly, certain women Members further crossed over to the Treasury Benches carrying banners and placards, adopting an openly confrontational posture. They not only laid siege to the Prime Minister’s seat but also advanced deep into the Treasury Benches, encroaching upon the space where senior Ministers were seated, thereby heightening the sense of disorder and insecurity within the Chamber,” sources said.

They further claimed that subsequently, Opposition MPs visited the Speaker’s Chamber, where they resorted to the use of unparliamentary language and made threatening remarks and given the scenario, the Speaker had genuine concerns regarding the safety of the PM and the maintenance of order in the House. Sources added that his advice to the PM not to enter the 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 Speaker’s assertion reflects not conjecture or exaggeration, but a responsible and conscientious discharge of his duty to protect Parliament and all its members,” they said.