Congress MPs say PM Modi's absence was fear-driven, write to Speaker Birla
Congress MPs say PM Modi's absence was fear-driven, write to Speaker Birla
Congress women MPs claim PM Modi avoided the Lok Sabha out of fear, not threats, urging accountability and challenging Speaker Birla amid ongoing disruptions.
A group of Congress women MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, saying Narendra Modi’s absence from the Lok Sabha during the Motion of Thanks to the President was not due to any threat from the opposition, but an act of fear. The letter, signed by six MPs including Karur MP S. Jothimani, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotsna Charandas Mahant, R. Sudha and Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, argued that the prime minister lacks the courage to face the Opposition and that he is being targeted simply for challenging the government.
The MPs also asserted that Birla has been under pressure from the ruling party to make allegations against women MPs of the Congress, and that the Leader of Opposition has been denied the opportunity to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
The backdrop includes disruptions in the Lok Sabha since February 3, after Rahul Gandhi was disallowed from quoting passages from an article based on the memoir of former Army chief M. M. Naravane, amid other parliamentary frictions.
With the Budget Session nearing and political temperatures rising, the Congress signatories said the floor of the house should not be made a theatre of fear, insisting on accountability and a fair hearing for the Opposition.
