Congress' women MPs in the Lok Sabha wrote to Speaker Om Birla on Monday, claiming that under pressure from the ruling party to defend the "non-appearance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made grave allegations against them. They urged the Speaker to act as an impartial custodian of the Lower House.
Their letter to the Speaker comes days after Birla stated in the House that he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Modi's seat and carry out "some unexpected act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Speaking about the letter signed by her, along with other women MPs of the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "There is so much pressure on the Speaker which is not right. There is no question of anyone raising a hand on the PM or do anything like this. There are 11 women MPs, they are all serious MPs."
"He (Birla) should not have made the statement, he has been pressured to say it by the government and that is why he made the statement because Modi ji did not have the courage to come to the House that day so the Speaker is giving clarification on his behalf. This is wrong," she told reporters.
In their letter, the women MPs of the Congress in the Lok Sabha said that, clearly pressured by the ruling party to defend the "non-appearance of the Prime Minister", Birla issued a statement making grave allegations against the women MPs of the party.
"We are being targeted simply because we have consistently fought against Prime Minister Narender Modi's anti-people government and demanded accountability from him. His absence from the House was not due to any threat from us, it was an act of fear," said the letter signed by MPs like Priyanka Gandhi, Jyothimani, R Sudha, Varsha Gaikwad and Jyotsna Mahant.
"He (PM) did not have the courage to face the Opposition. We are Members of Parliament from the Indian National Congress, a party that stands for love, peace, constitutional values, and human dignity. We do not believe in violence and intimidation. We are brave women elected representatives who will not be silenced by intimidation," the Congress' women MPs said.
"We believe that transparency is the only way to restore the dignity of the Speaker's office and the credibility of this House," they added.
The women MPs further said they have the utmost respect for the Speaker's office and for his good self. "However, it is amply clear that you are under sustained pressure from the ruling party. We urge you once again to act as the impartial custodian of the Lok Sabha. We will stand with you and support you wholeheartedly in this endeavour," the women MPs said.
"Let history remember you as one who stood for what was right in the most trying circumstances and upheld constitutional propriety for the good of the nation. Let it not remember you as one who bowed to pressure from those who leave no stone unturned in subverting constitutional values and damaging the democratic fabric of our nation," they added.
In the letter, the women MPs said they are writing to Birla with deep anguish and a strong sense of constitutional responsibility. "It is extremely unfortunate that you, as the Hon'ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the constitutional custodian of this august house, have been forced by the ruling party to make: false, baseless, and defamatory allegations against women Members of Parliament belonging to the Opposition, particularly from the Congress," the MPs said.
"The Speaker's Chair is a constitutional office meant to protect the dignity of Parliament, ensure fairness, and safeguard the rights of all Members, irrespective of party affiliation," the MPs added.
During the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, established parliamentary convention mandates that both the ruling party and the opposition are allowed to speak, after which the prime minister replies, they said.
"Yet, for the past four consecutive days, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, has been deliberately denied this opportunity in the Lok Sabha. This is unprecedented and indefensible," they said.
On the other hand, eight members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc were suspended on the behest of the ruling party and a BJP MP was permitted to speak in a vulgar and obscene manner about former prime ministers, they said.
"...At 5 pm, violating conventional procedure, the prime minister was scheduled to speak in the Lok Sabha. All members of the INDIA alliance rose in protest and the prime minister failed to appear in the House," they said.
"The next day, clearly pressured by the ruling party to defend the non-appearance of the prime minister, you issued a statement making grave allegations against the women MPs of the Congress," the MPs said.
In an unprecedented development, the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks on Thursday last without the prime minister's customary reply that was scheduled a day earlier in the face of relentless sloganeering by opposition members.
An anguished Lok Sabha Speaker last Thursday said he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Modi's seat and carry out "some unexpected act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.