Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi, on Thursday hit back at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after he stated that he had advised PM Modi not to come to the House as he feared Congress MPs were planning an “unprecedented” disruption during the Prime Minister's speech.
Attacking PM Modi, Priyanka said, “The PM is hiding behind the Speaker; he did not have the guts to come to the House because three women were standing before the bench.”
She also vehemently rejected claims that Congress MPs had gathered near the Prime Minister’s seat with the intention of harming him.
“There is no question of anybody raising any hands on the Prime Minister or hurt him or any such thing. There is no question. So, it is absolutely wrong of anybody to say that there was any such plan,” she said.
Priyanka’s response came after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday launched a broadside against the Congress party, stating, “When the Prime Minister was supposed to respond to the President's address in the House, I received information that several Congress MPs could have created an inappropriate 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.”
The Lok Sabha Speaker also thanked PM Modi for preventing unpleasant scenes by listening to his advice. However, he emphasised that it was inappropriate that the Leader of the House could not speak in the Lok Sabha.
