‘Act of fear’: Women Congress MPs rebut ‘threat to PM Modi’ charge in letter to Lok Sabha Speaker

The MPs said they are being targeted for consistently holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government accountable.

• Congress women MPs allege Speaker made false claims under ruling party pressure
• MPs say their protests were peaceful and within democratic norms
• Speaker accused of not acting independently and targeting Congress MPs

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A group of women MPs from the Congress has written a strongly worded letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla alleging that the ruling party forced him to make "false, baseless, and defamatory" claims against them.

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

The MPs said their protests in the House were peaceful and in line with parliamentary norms, but they faced unprecedented targeting.

In the letter, the MPs highlighted that during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was repeatedly denied the opportunity to speak over four consecutive days, while a BJP MP was allowed to make "vulgar and obscene" remarks about former Prime Ministers.

The MPs further claimed that when they met the Speaker to demand action against the BJP MP, he acknowledged a "grave mistake" but later indicated he was awaiting the government's response, suggesting he no longer acted independently in such matters.

The next day, the MPs claimed, the Speaker, reportedly under pressure from the ruling party to justify the Prime Minister's absence, issued a statement making "grave allegations" against them.

The MPs insisted their protests were "unrelentingly peaceful, firm, and entirely within democratic norms." They highlighted that many of them come from humble backgrounds and are first-generation politicians who have built their careers through decades of public service despite resistance and discrimination.

The MPs said they are being targeted for consistently holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government accountable. They added that the Prime Minister's absence from the House was "an act of fear" rather than a response to any threat from their side.

Reaffirming their commitment to democratic principles, the Congress women MPs said their party stands for love, peace, constitutional values, and human dignity. They asserted that they will not be silenced by intimidation and emphasised that transparency is essential to restore the dignity of the Speaker's office and maintain the credibility of the Lok Sabha.