New Delhi [India], February 12 : Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday accused Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of being "stubborn" and deliberately disrupting Parliament, saying the Congress leader's approach was preventing the House from functioning during the Budget Session.
In an interview with ANI, Paswan said a "pattern" has emerged in which the Opposition, especially the Congress, fixates on a single issue, preventing the House from functioning smoothly and preventing other Opposition members from speaking.
"A pattern is emerging where the Opposition and especially the Congress party pick up an issue and then do not allow the house to function. The way they are not allowing the house to function shows that they don't have any issues. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi became so stubborn, and he only kept raising one issue, where neither he spoke nor did he allow anyone else (even from the Opposition) to speak," he said.
The Union Minister also raised concerns over the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's safety in Parliament, recalling an incident during the motion of thanks on the President's Address.
The row began after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to quote from a former Army chief General MM Naravane's (Retd) unpublished book during his Lok Sabha speech, with the treasury benches opposing him.
Speaker Om Birla said he advised PM Modi not to attend to prevent any unpleasant incidents, calling some Opposition members' behaviour unprecedented and inappropriate. He stressed his duty to maintain the House's dignity and strongly objected to MPs approaching the Prime Minister's chair or raising posters.
Reacting to this incident, Paswan said some Opposition women MPs were aggressively moving towards the Prime Minister's chair while holding banners, creating a tense atmosphere in the House.
"I was present in Parliament when I saw some women MPs from the opposition charging towards the Prime Minister's chair. When the Prime Minister had arrived, in the heat of the moment anything could have happened. The Speaker is the custodian of the Lok Sabha, and he might have received information from various sources that an uncomfortable situation could have emerged. Keeping the sensitivity of the situation in mind, the Prime Minister did not arrive in the Lok Sabha," Paswan said in an interview with ANI.
On the row over former Army chief General MM Naravane's (Retd) unpublished book, Union Minister Chirag Paswan said parliamentary rules require issues to be authentic, but Rahul Gandhi continued raising the same matter despite the Chair's ruling.
"The rules clearly say that the issues raised in the parliament have to be authentic...Even after chair gave a fresh ruling that this issue cannot be discussed, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi kept on raising the same issue."
On the no-confidence motion moved against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Paswan called it "wrong" and said the LoP had multiple opportunities to speak but focused on a single issue, failing to utilise them effectively.
"This is wrong. LoP got many opportunities to speak but he was stubborn to only speak only on one issue, due to which he was not able to make the most of the opportunities he got," he added.
The notice of the no-confidence motion comes amid the Opposition alleging that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir, 'Four Stars of Destiny,' in discussing the 2020 standoff with China. The Speaker passed a ruling, asking Gandhi not cite unpublished literature.