‘Had concrete info that Congress members could…': Om Birla on why he advised PM Modi not to come to the House

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Thursday, 5 February, that he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to Parliament to reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address after ‘getting information’ that the Congress MPs could ‘indulge in an unforeseen act’.

Before the House was adjourned for the day, Om Birla said, “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 mishap could have happened. To ensure that such a situation does not arise, I conveyed to PM Modi not to come to the House,” Om Birla said, adding that had any incident taken place, “it would have been unfortunate.”

Lashing out at Opposition members at Wednesday's dramatic scenes, the Lok Sabha speaker said, “With sadness, I have to inform that some members displayed such behaviour in the House on Wednesday that had never been witnessed in its history.” Also Read | In a first since 2004, Lok Sabha passes Motion of Thanks on President's address without PM's response

“Behaviour of some members in Lok Sabha on Wednesday unprecedented, ‘black spot’. We all should cooperate in running the House smoothly,” he said, adding, "By agreeing not to come to Lok Sabha, the PM prevented unpleasant scenes; I thank him. Had any incident taken place, it would have been unfortunate.”

“If this incident had taken place, this would have left the democratic traditions of the country in shreds. To avoid this, I requested the PM not come to the House, and as the Speaker, it was my responsibility to uphold the dignity of the House,” he continued.

Om Birla said the dignity of the chair has been established in the Constitution.

“Never in history have political differences been dragged to the House. The conduct of the opposition members in the office of the Speaker was not appropriate, and in fact, it was like a black spot,” he said.

The speaker then adjourned the House amid Opposition slogans and protests.

What happened in the Lok Sabha?

The Lok Sabha witnessed dramatic scenes as women Opposition MPs charged towards the prime minister's seat, holding banners, ahead of his scheduled speech, leading to the adjournment of proceedings for the day.

The video showed many women MPs trooping into the Well of the House as BJP MP PP Chaudhary was making his speech, moving towards the PM's seat and surrounding it while raising slogans.

PM Modi was not present in the House. Now Om Birla has revealed that he had information about what the Opposition had planned, and he advised the prime minister not to come to the House.