Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday posted a video of the unprecedented and unparliamentary stand-off that unfolded in Lok Sabha on February 4, and called out the “most degrading behaviour” of Congress and opposition MPs, which could have turned the House into a battleground if not managed and handled tactfully.
The incident referred to by Rijiju occurred in the Lok Sabha on February 4, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address. Several women Congress MPs moved towards the Prime Minister’s chair, purportedly with the intent to obstruct his entry and confront him.
The fresh video, shared by Rijiju, shows women MPs “gheraoing” the Prime Minister’s chair and refusing to budge despite repeated persuasion from several Union Ministers. In the video, two or three ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Giriraj Singh and other MPs, are seen pleading and persuading the women lawmakers to go back to their seats and refrain from such unparliamentary behaviour, but the latter remained unrelenting and stood firm with banners and posters.
This had prompted Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to urge the Prime Minister to skip the Lok Sabha proceedings, as this could have led to some unpleasant and ugly outcome. The Lower House eventually passed the Motion of Thanks without the Prime Minister’s reply.
Kiren Rijiju, lambasting the Congress party for ‘egging on’ its women MPs to block the alley where the Prime Minister would have walked into the House, said that the BJP lawmakers displayed maturity and restraint, else this could have led the House into complete bedlam.
“Congress Party is proud of the most degrading behavior by their MPs !! If we had not stopped all BJP MPs and allowed the Women MPs to confront Cong. MPs, it would have led to very ugly scene. We have very high consideration, to protect the dignity & sanctity of the Parliament,” he wrote, sharing the telling video.
This is the first glimpse of the highly confrontational scene that occurred in the Lok Sabha during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address. It captures the opposition MPs’ attempt to inflict hostility on the treasury benches while BJP MPs and ministers are seen urging them to protest, without crossing the boundaries.