Manmohan Singh in Lok Sabha (From a 2005 clip shared by Jairam Ramesh)
NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing row over Rahul Gandhi stopped from speaking in Lok Sabha and PM Modi’s speech being cancelled, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared old videos of Manmohan Singh refering to when the then-Prime Minister “was prevented from replying to the Motion of Thanks on June 10, 2004”.He claimed BJP had blocked then-PM Manmohan Singh from speaking on the President’s Address in 2004, in a series of posts on X, amid the current political deadlock ongoing in the Lok Sabha.Ramesh shared a video on social media platform X showing Singh’s 2005 speech. In that address, Singh had referenced being unable to speak the previous year. Quoting Singh’s words from 2005, Ramesh recalled the former PM saying: “Mr. Speaker, Sir, I deem it a great privilege to be standing here today to express the gratitude of our Government to the respected Rashtrapatiji for his address to members of both Houses of Parliament.” The current parliamentary standoff escalated dramatically on Wednesday. Women opposition MPs rushed towards the Prime Minister’s seat carrying protest banners. They were demonstrating against a US trade deal and former Army chief Naravane’s unpublished book. PM Modi wasn’t present when this happened. The disruption occurred around 5 PM, just when PM Modi was expected to reply to the Motion of Thanks discussion. BJP member P P Chaudhary was speaking when opposition members entered the Well of the House. Despite Chair Sandhya Rai’s attempts to maintain order. Ultimately, the chaos led to adjournment of Lok Sabha and cancellation of PM Modi’s address on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.The row initially started on Monday when Rahul Gandhi attempted to quote excerpts from an unpublished book during a Parliament session. Gandhi sought to raise the issue of the India-China confrontation in August 2020, but was repeatedly interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and later Home Minister Amit Shah, who objected to the use of what they described as an unverified source.General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who authored the book, was serving as Army Chief at the time of the Ladakh confrontation.The situation remains tense following Tuesday’s suspension of eight opposition MPs – seven from Congress and one from CPI(M) – for the rest of the Budget session. While PM Modi is now scheduled to speak in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, his Lok Sabha address stands cancelled with the Motion of Thanks passed in Lok Sabha.