Om Birla
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has doubled down on his charge that PM Modi’s safety faced a threat from opposition MPs in LS if he were to reply on Feb 4 to the motion of thanks on the President’s address, refuting opposition parties’ claim that his advice to Modi to call off his speech was devoid of merit and that there was no threat to him. While “grave and unprecedented” disorder unfolded in LS as the scheduled time of Modi’s reply approached, several opposition MPs visited Birla’s chamber where they resorted to using unparliamentary language and threatening remarks, including “dekhte hain PM ka kya karte hain (let’s see how they handle PM’s address)”, LS secretariat sources said. Such conduct was wholly unbecoming of MPs and further underscored the volatility of the situation prevailing that day, they said. Inside LS, situation had worsened rapidly as some opposition MPs climbed onto tables, tore official papers, and hurled them towards the Chair, they said. “These acts signified a breakdown of discipline and constituted one of the most unfortunate and undesirable episodes witnessed in LS, drawing widespread attention and concern both within the House and beyond, in India and abroad.” Amid these dramatic scenes in the House, several women MPs moved aggressively towards the designated seat of Modi and virtually cordoned it, they noted, recalling that some of them moved further along 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, heightening the sense of disorder and insecurity within the House,” they said. In view of this sequence of events, Birla had genuine and well-founded concerns regarding Modi’s safety and the maintenance of order in the House, they said, stressing that this prompted him to advise Modi not to enter LS.
