Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex, Rijiju claimed that senior Congress leaders K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present during the incident and did not intervene.
He said the Speaker was “very hurt” by the alleged behaviour. Rijiju added that Birla is “very lenient” and could have taken stricter action if he had chosen to do so.
“I cannot repeat the kind of words that were used,” Rijiju said, alleging that several MPs had entered the Speaker’s chamber and misbehaved.
Allegations against Congress leadership
Rijiju further claimed that senior Congress leaders present in the chamber did not stop the MPs and instead encouraged them.
“Had our MPs misbehaved, our leaders would have stopped them,” he alleged, adding that Congress MPs were not following the Speaker’s rulings in the House.
The Congress has not immediately responded to these specific allegations.
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Row over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks
The minister also referred to comments made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. According to Rijiju, Gandhi had said he did not require permission to speak in the House.
Rijiju stressed that every member, including the prime minister, can speak only with the permission of the Chair.
“You have to take permission from the Chair. Even the prime minister speaks with the Chair’s approval,” he said.
Naravane memoir controversy
The ongoing disruption in the Lok Sabha began after Rahul Gandhi sought to quote from an article based on excerpts of former Army chief General M M Naravane’s unpublished memoir. The excerpts reportedly refer to the 2020 India-China conflict.
The Speaker did not allow Gandhi to quote from the article, citing rules.
Rijiju said discussions involving conversations between the prime minister, defence minister and Army chief cannot be made public.
“If everything is discussed in public, how will national security be maintained?” he asked, alleging that sensitive matters were being used for political purposes.
Disruptions in the House
The Lok Sabha has witnessed repeated disruptions since February 2 over the issue.
On February 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unable to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address due to protests by opposition members.
In an unusual development, the Motion of Thanks was passed on February 5 without the prime minister’s customary reply. Speaker Om Birla read out the motion, and it was adopted by voice vote amid sloganeering.
Birla later said he had received information that some Congress MPs could attempt an “unexpected act” near the prime minister’s seat. He said he advised the prime minister not to come to the House that day. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra denied the claim.
Suspension of opposition MPs
Eight opposition members have been suspended for the remainder of the Budget session for alleged unruly behaviour in the House.
Opposition moves to remove Speaker
Amid the standoff, opposition parties have initiated the process to move a resolution to remove Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker. They have accused him of acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner and have asked him to step aside from presiding over proceedings until the matter is resolved.
The political confrontation between the government and the opposition continues, with Parliament proceedings affected by repeated disruptions.
(With inputs from PTI)
