Opposition claims over Speaker Om Birla's advice to PM Modi are baseless, he acted to protect House dignity: Sources

The sources said that the opposition's claims that there was no imminent threat to the Prime Minister "are baseless and stand contradicted by the events that transpired on the floor of the House" last week.

They said Speaker's assertion reflects a conscientious discharge of his duty to protect Parliament and all its members.

The sources said that to place the matter in its proper perspective, it is essential to appreciate that the remarks of Speaker made on Thursday last must be viewed against the backdrop "of the grave and unprecedented disorder that unfolded in the House on that day".

From the very commencement of the proceedings, the atmosphere in the Chamber deteriorated sharply, giving rise to serious concerns regarding safety, decorum, and the dignity of parliamentary functioning, the sources said.

They said 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 source said.

"These acts signified a complete breakdown of discipline and constituted one of the most unfortunate and undesirable episodes witnessed in the Lok Sabha, drawing widespread attention and concern both within the House and beyond, in India and abroad," a source said.

They said that amid this chaos, several women MPs moved aggressively towards the seat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "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, a source said.

The sources said subsequently, opposition Members visited the Speaker's Chamber, where "they resorted to the use of unparliamentary language and made threatening remarks, including statements such as "dekhte hain, PM ka kya karte hain" (let's see, what we do with PM)".

They said that such conduct was wholly unbecoming of MPs and further underscored the volatility of the situation prevailing that day.

The sources said in view of this sequence of events, the Speaker had genuine and well-founded concerns regarding the safety of the Prime Minister and the maintenance of order in the House.

The sources said his advice to the Prime Minister 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 foremost constitutional responsibility is to maintain decorum, propriety of the House and order and his actions were firmly anchored in this obligation," the source said.

The sources said that opposition's subsequent claims that there was no imminent threat to the Prime Minister "are therefore entirely baseless and stand contradicted by the events that transpired on the floor of the House".

They said Speaker's assertion reflects not conjecture or exaggeration, but a responsible and conscientious discharge of his duty to protect Parliament and all its members.

A political row has erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from the "pre-print book" during his speech in Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President's Address with the treasury benches strongly opposing his remarks. After facing several adjournments on the issue, the House last week adopted the motion of thanks by voice vote amid sloganeering by opposition benches.

Om Birla had said on Thursday that he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House yesterday to prevent any unpleasant incident as he received information that some Congress MPs can come to the PM's seat in the House and "resort to unprecedented incident".

Birla, who adjourned the House for the day when the House resumed its proceedings at 3 pm following adjournments earlier, said that some members had resorted to such behavior in the House chamber yesterday which has never taken place.

He said the Constitution has given the Chair a place of dignity and history is witness that political differences have not reached the office of the House.

Birla said the behaviour that some members of opposition had resorted to in the office of Speaker was not appropriate for the country's democratic traditions.

"It was like a black spot. All of us should cooperate in smooth functioning of the House," he said. He said the Prime Minister, who is Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, was to reply to the motion of thanks on the President's Address but he received information "that some Congress members can resort to an "unprecedented incident" near PM's seat.

"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 unprecedented situation could have happened. It would have been very unfortunate, the country's democratic fibre would have been damaged. To ensure that such a situation does not arise, I conveyed to PM Modi not to come to the House," Birla said.

He said it is his responsibility as Speaker to maintain the decorum of the House and protect its high traditions. Referring to noisy opposition protests, Birla said the Prime Minister not being able to speak in the House is not right in any manner. "The Prime Minister agreed to my suggestion, prevented any unpleasant incident from taking place...," he said. Birla strongly objected to opposition members raising posters and said the House will not run like this. "The country saw yesterday's incident, how women MPs reached there. This was not right, not in accordance with the dignity of the House. You want to lower the dignity of the House," he said. (ANI)