New Delhi [India], February 10 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women MPs on Tuesday backed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, while slamming the Opposition MPs for the alleged "unfortunate incident" of throwing papers at the Chair and entering the Well of the House during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
The BJP MPs wrote to Speaker Birla alleging that Opposition women MPs "surrounded the Prime Minister's seat" and later aggressively approached the Speaker's chamber on February 4. They urged the Speaker to take "the strongest possible action" against the MPs involved in the alleged incident.
This came as a response to women MPs from Congress' letter to Om Birla alleging that the ruling party forced him to make "false, baseless, and defamatory" claims against them.
The BJP MPs wrote that the nation witnessed an "unfortunate and regrettable incident" inside the Lok Sabha Chamber, when "members of opposition parties not only enter the Well of the House, but also climb onto the tables, tear up papers, and throw them towards the Speaker."
Furthermore, the MPs claimed to be "deeply provoked and enraged," but they did not retaliate, following instructions from senior leaders. The BJP termed it one of the "darkest moments in the history of our parliamentary democracy."
"The matter became even more serious when, later, we saw opposition MPs aggressively approach your chamber. We could hear loud noises coming from inside your chamber," the letter read.
The BJP said that during his nearly seven-year tenure as the Presiding Officer of Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla has "consistently strived to enhance its prestige and effectiveness" and "demonstrated impartiality and given equal opportunities to all members, regardless of party affiliation."
On Thursday, Speaker Om Birla said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to prevent any unpleasant incident, after receiving information that some Congress MPs could come to the PM's seat and "resort to an unprecedented incident".
In response, on Monday, Congress women MPs said their protests in the House were peaceful and in line with parliamentary norms, but they faced unprecedented targeting.
In the letter, the MPs highlighted that during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was repeatedly denied the opportunity to speak over four consecutive days, while a BJP MP was allowed to make "vulgar and obscene" remarks about former Prime Ministers.
The MPs further claimed that when they met the Speaker to demand action against the BJP MP, he acknowledged a "grave mistake" but later indicated he was awaiting the government's response, suggesting he no longer acted independently in such matters.
The next day, the MPs claimed, the Speaker, reportedly under pressure from the ruling party to justify the Prime Minister's absence, issued a statement making "grave allegations" against them.
The row comes in the backdrop of a stalemate in the Lok Sabha over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, where he attempted to cite former Army Chief General MM Naravane's memoir on the 2020 standoff against China.
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