Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has criticised the Opposition for what he described as overreaction and aggressive conduct in Parliament, saying the disruption and walkout were unnecessary and prevented meaningful discussion.
Speaking in an ABP News exclusive interview, Paswan said the Opposition’s approach ultimately backfired and denied other members an opportunity to speak.
‘Use The House To Keep Batons Aside’
Referring to the conduct inside the House, Paswan said the Prime Minister had urged members to use the parliamentary platform constructively rather than resorting to confrontation.
“He was telling the MPs to use the platform to keep the batons aside,” Paswan said.
He added that there was a need for introspection across the board. “Everyone needs to introspect so that such behaviour is not repeated. Where are you failing, that the Opposition is getting so aggressive?”
Questions On Aggressive Conduct
Paswan questioned whether the Speaker had ever used such language or conduct in the past, particularly when the Opposition became visibly agitated.
“When the Opposition gets angry in this manner, I do not think the Speaker has ever spoken in this way,” he said.
Referring to an incident in the House, he said, “When banners were being taken towards the Prime Minister’s chair, they were physically very charged.”
He added that such behaviour creates a situation where dialogue becomes impossible. “You won’t be able to hear anything about your leader, and I won’t be able to hear anything about mine.”
‘PM Responded To Everything’
Paswan pointed out that the Prime Minister had already responded to the issues raised.
“The Prime Minister gave replies to every point,” he said, adding that due to the insistence of one individual, the entire Opposition lost the opportunity to speak.
“Because of one person’s stubbornness, the entire Opposition did not get a chance,” he said.
Missed Opportunity For Broader Debate
Paswan said several other subjects could have been discussed in the House, including the President’s address.
“I agree with the Honourable Chair. This is a very wide-ranging subject,” he said.
However, he noted that when a particular issue came up, the Chair’s ruling was supreme. “But the Chair gave another ruling as well,” he said.
He questioned whether the issue in question was the only matter the Leader of the Opposition wished to raise. “Does Rahul ji have only this one issue? Others in the Opposition could also have been given a chance to speak.”
On Authenticity Of Remarks Cited
Referring to remarks attributed to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey about the Nehru–Gandhi family, Paswan addressed the argument around authenticity.
“Is this authentic — is that where the argument started?” he asked, noting that quotations cited were already available on public platforms.
“My only point is that if there was doubt about authenticity, you could have put forward your other arguments. But insisting that you will speak only on this and denying others a chance is wrong,” he said.
He added that the approach ultimately worked against the Opposition. “This ended up backfiring.”
‘Strategy Failed’
Paswan said the Opposition’s strategy failed and led to repeated disruptions of the House.
“You failed on strategy — that is exactly my point,” he said.
He expressed concern that proceedings were not allowed to continue after this. “My problem is that because of just one individual, the Prime Minister’s address was interrupted.”
Referring again to conduct in the House, he said, “A woman MP aggressively moved towards the Prime Minister’s seat.”
He mentioned names including Jyotimani and Sanjana Jatav, without elaboration.
‘Overreaction Was Unnecessary’
Paswan concluded by reiterating that the Opposition had overreacted.
“The Opposition is overreacting,” he said, adding that he was a supporter of maintaining healthy parliamentary traditions.
“My only concern was that this was not required,” he said.
