Om Birla says asked PM Modi not to come to Lok Sabha: 'Plot by Congress to create unprecedented incident'

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla (File photo)

• PM Modi's Lok Sabha speech postponed due to Congress-led protests
• Om Birla says Congress MPs could have created inappropriate incident near PM's chair
• Congress demands Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak before PM addresses Parliament

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that extraordinary steps were taken to avoid an alleged serious disruption in the House.

Birla said, ".When the Prime Minister was supposed to respond to the President's address in the House, I received solid information that several Congress MPs could have created an unprecedented incident near the Prime Minister's chair. If such an incident had occurred, it would have torn apart the democratic traditions of the country. To prevent this, I requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House."

According to the Speaker, the decision was guided by concerns over decorum and institutional dignity.

Despite repeated adjournments triggered by uproar, the Lower House later passed the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the Prime Minister over his absence in the Parliament and accused the PM of "hiding behind the Speaker". She said the government does not want the discussion to be held in the Parliament.

"Yesterday, he did not have the guts to come to the House because three women were standing before the bench. What nonsense is this? There is no discussion because the government doesn't want discussion to happen," she told news agency ANI.

PM Modi's speech put on hold

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the Motion of Thanks in Lok Sabha was shelved after intense protests led mainly by Congress members. The party has now signalled that it will not permit the Prime Minister to speak in either House unless Rahul Gandhi is allowed to present his views.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address the Rajya Sabha later in the day, but the Opposition has indicated it may again disrupt proceedings.

Congress' core objection

At the heart of the confrontation is an unpublished memoir by former Army chief General MM Naravane (retired). Rahul Gandhi has claimed the book reveals how political leadership left the armed forces to handle the 2020 China border crisis on their own.

Gandhi has alleged he was stopped from quoting the memoir, saying the government is afraid of what it contains. The Congress argues that preventing him from speaking amounts to censorship and an assault on free expression in Parliament.

Escalation in both Houses

Tensions deepened after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday sought to raise books critical of the Gandhi family and was permitted to do so by the Chair, prompting further protests and adjournments.

Earlier, eight Opposition MPs were suspended on Tuesday for the remainder of the session due to alleged unruly behaviour.

In Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju appealed to Opposition parties to uphold parliamentary traditions. He also urged senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge to ensure Gandhi follows established rules.

Kharge responded that Gandhi merely wanted to "highlight the mistakes of the government" and insisted that the Opposition was not deliberately stalling proceedings.

Union Minister JP Nadda, in a veiled remark, referred to Gandhi as "abodh balak (naive child)."

'Too scared to enter': Priyanka Gandhi on PM Modi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the Prime Minister was "too scared to enter parliament."

The Opposition maintains that blocking Gandhi’s intervention weakens democratic debate, while the BJP counters that his proposed references violate House guidelines on unauthenticated material.

With accusations and counter-accusations flying, the atmosphere in Parliament remains charged. The Congress has made it clear that unless Gandhi is heard, resistance will continue -- even during the Prime Minister’s address.