Birla had genuine concerns over PM's safety, LS sources rebut Opposition

With the opposition asserting that there was no imminent threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha last week, lower House secretariat sources on Monday said that several women MPs had moved "aggressively" towards his seat and Speaker Om Birla had genuine concerns regarding Modi's safety.

Citing the sequence of events which unfolded in the House on Wednesday, they said the speaker had "genuine and well-founded concerns regarding the safety of the prime minister" and the "maintenance of order" in the House.

Birla's advice to the prime minister not to enter the LS 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 Lok Sabha secretariat sources said.

The assertion of the sources came hours after Congress' women Lok Sabha MPs wrote to Birla claiming that under pressure from the ruling party to defend the "non-appearance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made grave allegations against them.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with some opposition leaders, also met Birla and apprised him about the issues he wants to raise in the House.

The meeting took place after proceedings in the lower house were adjourned for the day amid a standoff between the government and the opposition over Gandhi's demand that he be allowed to speak before the discussion on the Union Budget begins.

The House has been witnessing daily disruptions since February 2, when Gandhi was disallowed to cite a report quoting an unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane on the India-China conflict of 2020.

Since then, the issue has snowballed, leading to scenes of ruckus in the lower house, which had also led to the suspension of seven Congress and one CPI-M MP from the House for the remainder of the session.

In an unprecedented development, Modi also did not speak on the Motion of Thanks as Birla urged him not to come to the Lok Sabha chamber, fearing unpleasant acts by Congress MPs.

Responding to allegations that Birla toed the line of the BJP by asking Modi not to come to the House, the sources said the claims were "devoid of facts", and the assertion by opposition leaders that there was no imminent threat to the prime minister was incorrect.

The statement made by the Speaker must be viewed against the backdrop of the "grave and unprecedented disorder" that unfolded in the House on that day, the sources underscored.

From the very commencement of the proceedings, they said, the atmosphere in the Lok Sabha chamber "deteriorated sharply". It gave rise to "serious concerns regarding safety, decorum, and the dignity of parliamentary functioning".

At the initial stage of the proceedings, MPs belonging to opposition parties entered the Well of the House in open defiance of established parliamentary norms. The situation escalated rapidly as certain members climbed onto tables, tore official papers, and hurled them towards the Chair, the sources said, describing the scene on Wednesday.

The acts signalled a "complete breakdown of discipline and constituted one of the most unfortunate and undesirable episodes witnessed in the Lok Sabha", they said, adding that it drew widespread attention and concern both within the House and beyond, in India and abroad.

Amid this chaos, several women MPs moved aggressively towards the seat of the prime minister, forming a virtual cordon around it, they added.

"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," a functionary explained.

Sources also pointed out that later, when opposition MPs met Birla in his office, they used "unparliamentary language".

Birla had referred to the scenes in his office in the House on Thursday last when he explained why he had asked Modi not to attend the Lok Sabha a day before.

The sources asserted that the Speaker's foremost constitutional responsibility is to maintain decorum, propriety of the House and order, and his actions were firmly anchored in this obligation.